A Case of Hodgkin Lymphoma with Dyspnea Caused by Subglottic Lesion

Abstract

Hodgkin lymphoma accounts for about 10% of all cases of malignant lymphoma, and laryngeal malignant lymphoma accounts for less than 1% of all laryngeal malignancies in Japan. We report the very rare case of an 85-year-old woman with Hodgkin lymphoma of the larynx. The patient presented with the chief complaints of difficulty in breathing, hoarseness of the voice and difficulty in swallowing. Laryngoscopic examination revealed immobility of the vocal folds and mucosal swelling of the pyriform sinus and subglottis bilaterally. Repeated biopsies from the pyriform sinus and subglottic tissue failed to reveral a definitive diagnosis. However, histopathological examination of a cervical lymph node specimen obtained by excision biopsy revealed the diagnosis of Hodgkin lymphoma. The disease stage was classified as clinical stage II AE and the patient was administered radiotherapy at a total radiation dose of 39.6 Gy. Fortunately, complete remission was achieved, and no recurrence has been observed until now, 20 months after the irradiation.