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Case Reports
. 2019 Mar 6;13(1):52.
doi: 10.1186/s13256-019-1996-9.

Combined surgery and radiotherapy as curative treatment for tracheal adenoid cystic carcinoma: a case report

Gian Paolo Spinelli  1 , Evelina Miele  2 , Alessandra Anna Prete  3 , Giuseppe Lo Russo  3 , Alessandro Di Marzo  4 , Claudio Di Cristofano  5 , Silverio Tomao  3
Affiliations
Case Reports

Combined surgery and radiotherapy as curative treatment for tracheal adenoid cystic carcinoma: a case report

Gian Paolo Spinelli et al. J Med Case Rep. .

Abstract

Background: Adenoid cystic carcinoma of the trachea is a rare tumor, characterized by slow growth and low rate of local and distant metastasis. When achievable, complete surgical resection represents the optimal treatment approach, with the highest results in terms of overall survival. Radiation therapy is a reasonable alternative in cases of inoperable disease.

Case presentation: We report a case of an 82-year-old white man affected by primary adenoid cystic carcinoma of the trachea, treated with debulking surgery and radiotherapy on the residual disease. A three-dimensional conformal radiation therapy was conducted. The total dose amounted to 70 Gy, administered in 35 fractions of 2 Gy. The medium doses given to the esophagus and lungs were 23 Gy and 4.2 Gy respectively. The maximum dose delivered to the spinal cord was 31 Gy with satisfactory results in terms of local control of the disease.

Conclusion: A combined approach of surgical resection followed by radiotherapy on the residual disease provided an excellent result in terms of disease control, quality of life, and overall survival in a patient with locally advanced tracheal adenoid cystic carcinoma.

Keywords: Adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC); Radiotherapy; Surgery; Trachea.

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Conflict of interest statement

Ethics approval and consent to participate

The authors declare that ethics approval was not required for this case report.

Consent for publication

Written informed consent was obtained from the patient for publication of this case and accompanying images. A copy of the written consent is available for review by the Editor-in-Chief of this journal.

Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
a, b Neoplastic proliferation composed of small cells with basophilic nucleus, inconspicuous nucleolus and scant cytoplasm arranged in nodules with cribriform pattern, cords, and tubules of varying size, containing eosinophilic material
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
a, b Positron emission tomography-computed tomography before (a) and after (b) radiotherapy. The increased uptake of 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose at the level of trachea is not visible after the treatment. The increased uptake of 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose in correspondence with the superior pulmonary lobes refer to the local inflammation caused by radiotherapy
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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