2022 Volume 68 Issue 3 Pages 208-215
Large-cell neuroendocrine carcinoma (LCNEC) was first reported as a neuroendocrine carcinoma of the lung, and a small number of cases have been reported in the pharyngeal region. In this study, we experienced a rare case of primary LCNEC of the hypopharynx. The patient was an 86-year-old man. He presented with a chief complaint of dysphagia, with laryngeal fiber scans showing a neoplastic lesion extending from the right pyriform sinus to the laryngeal cavity. A biopsy was performed during a tracheostomy for airway obstruction, resulting in the diagnosis of LCNEC. We performed total laryngectomy, partial hypopharyngectomy, and right neck dissection. Four years have passed since the surgery, and no recurrence has been observed. Although the classification of head and neck LCNEC was not established until the third edition of the WHO classification, the disease has a poor prognosis and was revised to a high-grade classification in the fourth edition of the WHO classification. The addition of postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy to radical resection surgery is expected to improve the prognosis of head and neck LCNEC.
