Abstract:

Myofibroblastic tumours are rare lesions which can affect any part of the body. Although benign, their mass effect causes symptoms which can become life-threatening. Supraglottic laryngeal involvement is extremely rare, with only four cases described in the English literature. Because the pathophysiology is unknown and the incidence is so low, there is no standardised therapeutic management, although for laryngeal tumours surgery has traditionally been the preferred initial option. Another less common option is intravenous and oral corticosteroid therapy, but this is usually reserved for myofibroblastic tumours in other head and neck sites that are more difficult to access surgically, or patients who cannot undergo surgery. These lesions have a very high tendency to recur and morbidity rates are therefore also high. We present a case of supraglottic myofibroblastic tumour in which we elected high-dose corticosteroid therapy as the only form of treatment. With this new therapeutic approach we avoided the undesirable effects of the usual type of surgery. At the 12-month follow-up, the patient is in complete remission.