Atypical carcinoid of the arytenoid: report of six cases

In order to illustrate the clinical and histological presentations of laryngeal atypical carcinoids and their potential course, we report six cases. We evaluated the factors predictive of local recurrence and metastatic diffusion. For each case, we noted the mitotic index, the quality of the resection, the limits of the tumor and the presence of necrosis. An immunohistochemical study was carried out with a series of antibodies (cytokeratins; D(2)40; CD31; MIB1; P53; P16; TTF1...). The clinical presentation we observed was quite similar to that reported in the literature. These tumors are CK7+, CK8+, CK19+, CK5-6-, CK14- and CK20-. P16 is constantly positive. Only the mitotic index and the lymphatic presence of embolus were correlated with the time course. The tumor is more aggressive when the mitotic index is high and an unfavorable course is observed when there are lymphatic emboli or when the Ki67 index is higher than 5%.