Larynx, hypopharynx & trachea
Other malignancies
Chondrosarcoma
Author: Nat Pernick, M.D.
Last author update: 1 December 2013
Last staff update: 25 April 2024
Copyright: 2002-2025, PathologyOutlines.com, Inc.
PubMed Search: Chondrosarcoma larynx
Table of Contents
Definition / general | Case reports | Treatment | Gross description | Microscopic (histologic) description | Positive stains | Negative stains | Molecular / cytogenetics description | Differential diagnosis | Additional referencesCite this page: Pernick N. Chondrosarcoma. PathologyOutlines.com website. https://www.pathologyoutlines.com/topic/larynxchondrosarcoma.html. Accessed January 4th, 2025.
Definition / general
- 0.5% of primary laryngeal tumors
- Mean age 64 years, range 25 - 91 years; 80% male
- 69% arise in cricoid, 9% in thyroid cartilage and 14% in both
- 18 - 30% recur (more common with higher grade); death usually due to recurrence and not distant metastases
- 46% are grade I, 49% grade II, 5% grade III
- 37% have associated chondroma
- Myxoid and dedifferentiated variants may have worse prognosis; surprisingly, grade may not be associated with clinical outcome
- Clear cell variants are very rare
Case reports
- 57 year old man with clear cell tumor (Am J Surg Pathol 2002;26:386)
Treatment
- Complete excision with sparing of vocal cords
Gross description
- Usually 3 cm or more, invasion into bone of ossified laryngeal cartilage
Microscopic (histologic) description
- Diagnostic fields often small; have atypical, neoplastic chondrocytes with loss of normal architecture and distribution and invasion of bone; laryngeal cartilage usually has undergone endochondral ossification
- Low grade chondrosarcoma: slight increase in cellularity, mild atypia with binucleated chondrocytes within 1 lacuna; difficult to distinguish from chondroma; can report as "cartilaginous tumor without obvious evidence of malignancy, further classification pending removal of entire lesion"
- High grade chondrosarcoma: hypercellular with enlarged, binucleated and multinucleated atypical cells with increased nuclear to cytoplasmic ratio, irregular nuclear chromatin, prominent nucleoli, mitotic figures (may be atypical) and variable tumor necrosis
- Dedifferentiated chondrosarcoma: also called chondrosarcoma with additional malignant mesenchymal component (Am J Surg Pathol 1988;12:314)
Positive stains
- Clear cell variants: S100, collagen type II
Negative stains
- Clear cell variants: keratin
Molecular / cytogenetics description
- Clear cell variants: loss of 9p22 and 18q21
Differential diagnosis
- Chondroid metaplasia
- < https://www.pathologyoutlines.com/topic/softtissueeskchondroma.html">Chondroma
- Vocal process of arytenoid cartilage (normal finding)
Additional references
