Laryngeal chondrosarcomas.

Four cases of laryngeal chondrosarcoma are presented. The patients' ages ranged from 60 to 75 years; one was a man and three were women. Two of the tumors arose in the thyroid cartilage, one in the cricoid cartilage, and one in the left arytenoid cartilage. A rapid fatal course with pulmonary and cerebral metastases was observed for the tumor arising in the arytenoid cartilage that histologically corresponded to a myxoid chondrosarcoma. The other three cases corresponded to low-grade, well-differentiated chondrosarcomas of the hyaline type, and the patients were alive and free of recurrence or metastases 3 to 6 years following total and partial laryngectomy. A review of the literature on the topic and the importance of assessing histologic grade, size, and location in the evaluation of these neoplasms is discussed.