Squamous cell carcinoma

Trachea
Tumors
Squamous cell carcinoma

Author: Adriana Handra-Luca, M.D. (see Authors page)

Revised: 6 December 2017, last major update October 2012

Copyright: (c) 2002-2017, PathologyOutlines.com, Inc.

PubMed Search: Squamous cell carcinoma trachea[TI] full text[sb]

Table of Contents

Cite this page: Handra-Luca, A. Squamous cell carcinoma. PathologyOutlines.com website. http://www.pathologyoutlines.com/topic/tracheascc.html. Accessed April 22nd, 2018.

Definition / general

Exophytic, obstructive tumor usually in smokers (J Am Coll Surg 2006;202:237) but also children
Most common primary malignancy of trachea (40 - 75%, Cancer 1990;66:894)

Clinical features

Usually arises in lower third of trachea (Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol 1993;250:383, Acta Otolaryngol 1991;111:1162)
May be extension of other head and neck primary
May be associated with pneumoconiosis or posttracheotomy scar (Respiration 1993;60:250)
Rapid clinical course, poor prognosis (Am J Clin Oncol 2011;34:32, Virchows Arch 2009;455:423, Jpn J Clin Oncol 1997;27:305)

Case reports

11 month old boy with severe dyspnea and stridor (Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol 1998;43:163)
37 year old woman with hypohidrotic ectodermal dysplasia (J Laryngol Otol 2002;116:742)
50 year old man with unresectable basaloid squamous cell carcinoma (J Cancer Res Ther 2010;6:321)
52 year old woman with HPV and squamous cell carcinoma in a solitary tracheal papilloma (Ann Thorac Surg 2004;77:2201)
54 year old man with dyspnea, hemoptysis, cough and weight loss (Acta Otorhinolaryngol Ital 2010;30:209)
70 year old woman with double primary cancer of the lung and trachea (Nihon Kyobu Shikkan Gakkai Zasshi 1996;34:216)
78 year old man with spindle cell sarcomatoid carcinoma (Tuberk Toraks 2009;57:337)

Treatment

Surgical excision with end to end anastomosis, radiation therapy (Med Princ Pract 2004;13:69)

Microscopic (histologic) description

Variants include spindle cell, sarcomatoid
May arise in papilloma
May be combined with small cell and giant cell carcinoma

Microscopic (histologic) images

Images hosted on other servers:

Basaloid squamous cell carcinoma

Various images

Differential diagnosis

Adenoid cystic carcinoma
Extension of esophageal tumor (Arch Pathol Lab Med 1984;108:983)
Metastasis from colon carcinoma (Can Assoc Radiol J 1989;40:198)