Pleomorphic adenoma of the larynx.

A 40-year-old woman was hoarse for five months due to a pleomorphic adenoma in the false vocal cord. The peripheral, ulcerated portion of the tumor had undergone squamous metaplasia, and this was initially misdiagnosed as squamous cell carcinoma. For that reason, the patient received radiation treatment, but the tumor remained unchanged. It was then locally excised, and the patient was still free of disease 14 years later. This case illustrates the hazard of misinterpreting squamous metaplasia in pleomorphic adenoma, the resistance of this tumor to irradiation, and the satisfactory long-range response to local excision.