Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma of the Larynx in Children

Abstract

Non-Hodgkin's lymphomas (lymphosarcomas) of the larynx are rare occurrences in children. This paper reports a child 9 years 3 months of age with isolated non-Hodgkin's lymphoma of the larynx, and gives a 15-year follow-up report of a previously published case of a child 4 years 7 months of age. Both children presented with the chief complaint of progressive airway obstruction, and both cases were misdiagnosed, as chronic allergic epiglottitis in the first patient, and nonresponsive croup in the second patient. Once we established a histologic diagnosis and excluded disseminated disease, we instituted treatment with local irradiation and systemic multiagent chemotherapy. Complete remission was achieved, and the two patients have been free of disease since their treatments were started 2 years and 9 years ago, respectively.