CARCINOMA OF THE TRACHEA

Abstract

In recent years, several discussions of primary carcinoma of the trachea have appeared in the literature. Notable among these are the reviews of Culp,¹Leroux-Robert,²Baratoux,³Tiling,⁴Dumas and Guichard⁵and D'Aunoy and Zoeller.⁶With the exception of Baratoux, these reviewers have dealt primarily with the morphologic character of the tumor, and the clinical and therapeutic aspects have been touched on only briefly or have been ignored. In the great majority of the cases reported the diagnosis was established at necropsy. This is particularly true of the earlier cases. Hence, it is not surprising that most of the reports consist primarily of pathologic data. Since bronchoscopic examination has come to be recognized as a valuable diagnostic procedure, discovery of primary intratracheal neoplasms during the life of the patient is no longer uncommon. It is the purpose of this discussion to attempt to correlate the pathologic findings with the symptoms and