Background: Malignant tumours of minor salivary glands are uncommon, representing only 2-4% of all head and
neck cancers. In the larynx, minor salivary gland tumours rarely occur and constitute less than 1% of laryngeal
neoplasm. Most of the minor salivary gland tumours arise in the subglottis; however, they can also occur in the
supraglottis, in the false vocal cords, aryepiglottic folds and caudal portion of the epiglottis. The most common
type of malignant minor salivary gland tumour is adenoid cystic carcinoma.
Methods: We present a unusual case of adenoid cystic carcinoma of glottic-subglottic region in a 61-year-old
woman. Follow-up endoscopy and laryngeal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) at three years after treatment
showed no recurrence of the tumour.
Results: The diagnosis of glottic-subglottic adenoid cystic carcinoma should be considered in patients who are
characterized by dyspnea, cough and stridor, but do not respond to pharmacologic approach.
Conclusions: Adenoid cystic carcinoma is usually a very slow growing cancer, invested by an apparently normal
laryngeal mucosa, so that it can show no clear symptoms for a long time. For these reasons the increasing number
of diagnostic mistakes or late diagnosis that may be fatal in some case
