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Primary tracheal adenoid cystic carcinoma (TACC) is a rare malignancy without an established treatment. Central airway obstruction due to TACC often decreases the quality of life and has life-threatening consequences. A 19-year-old man with unresectable TACC and central airway obstruction suffered from progressive cough and dyspnea after exercise. Proton beam therapy (PBT) was selected as the preferred treatment over systemic anti-cancer chemotherapy for TACC. PBT led to complete remission of TACC and the almost complete disappearance of the respiratory symptoms without adverse events. PBT is a useful and safe treatment for unresectable primary TACC.

A 34-year-old pregnant woman in the 34th week of gestation with uncontrolled asthma was admitted because of asthma exacerbation. Although she received bronchodilators and systemic corticosteroids, respiratory failure rapidly progressed. Chest computed tomography revealed a mass occluding approximately 80% of the tracheal lumen. After urgent Caesarean section, endobronchial resection was performed. The pathological findings of the resected tumor were compatible with tracheal glomus tumor. Tracheal tumors are often misdiagnosed as asthma, but its complication with asthma is rare. Even if the diagnosis of asthma is definitive, clinicians should consider coexisting diseases, including tracheal tumors, when asthma control is poor.

A 67-year-old woman who was followed as a patient with bronchial asthma for 1.5 years visited our hospital with progressive dyspnea. Although the chest radiography findings were normal, a chest computed tomography scan revealed a mass obliterating the intrathoracic tracheal lumen. The patient's symptoms disappeared immediately after tumor excision, and no recurrence was observed during a 1.5-year follow-up period. Microscopically, the tumor was composed of densely packed polygonal-, oval- and spindle-shaped cells that were positive for pan-cytokeratin, α-smooth muscle actin and p63. These pathological findings confirmed the diagnosis of benign myoepithelioma. Chest physicians should recognize that benign myoepithelioma can develop in the trachea, although it is very rare.

A 75-year-old man presented with the chief complaints of coughing and dyspnea. Chest computed tomography revealed narrowing of the trachea. A tumor measuring 40×33×15 mm in size that caused -90% reduction in the cross-sectional area of the trachea 4 cm above the carina was cauterized with high-frequency electrocautery via a rigid bronchoscope. A pathological examination revealed papillary squamous cell carcinoma with immunohistochemical p16 overexpression. Multiplex polymerase chain reaction confirmed human papillomavirus type 18 DNA in the tumor. At the 12-month follow-up visit following the administration of radiotherapy, the patient exhibited no local recurrence or distant metastasis.

Primary malignant melanoma of the trachea is extremely rare. We report here the first case of primary tracheal malignant melanoma in the asymptomatic stage. Incidentally, this 73-year-old man was found to have a flat tumor at the upper trachea on chest computed tomography scans. The tumor was surgically resected with end-to-end anastomosis and was diagnosed to be primary malignant melanoma of the trachea. Four months after the surgical resection, cervical lymph node metastasis was found. Despite the resection of metastatic lymph nodes and six courses of chemotherapy, he died of cachexia approximately two years after the discovery of the tracheal tumor.

Recurrent respiratory papillomatosis (RRP) is an infrequent benign neoplasm commonly involving the upper respiratory tract with laryngeal predilection. The diagnosis and treatment of this disease are challenging due to its nonspecific clinical presentations and recurrent nature. We report here a rare juvenile case of RRP arising in the trachea without laryngeal lesions. Our experiences indicate that a high awareness of RRP and proper consideration in the right clinical context are prerequisites for early diagnosis, and a combination of multiple treatment modalities should be considered as a feasible treatment regimen.

A 72-year-old woman with primary biliary cirrhosis complained of dry cough and wheezing. Chest computed tomography showed a tumor arising from the posterior wall of the trachea. Bronchoscopic examination revealed that the tumor was cauliflower-like, with two small polypoid tumors. They were diagnosed as multiple squamous papillomas. The main tumor was recurrent and removed by repeated microwave coagulation therapy (MCT) through bronchoscopy, whereas the two polypoid tumors were likely to disappear spontaneously. Human papilloma virus (HPV) type 6 DNA was detected in the tumor by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification, suggesting that this virus was the cause of her papillomas.

The tracheal tumor of a 74-year-old female was detected on bronchoscopy and histologically diagnosed as mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma. We successfully treated the tumor with endoscopic neodyminum-yttruim-aluminium-garnet (Nd-YAG) laser photoresection followed by local ethanol injection. This is the first case in which tracheal MALT lymphoma was successfully treated with bronchoscopy. Bronchoscopic therapy seems to be one of the most valuable strategies for treatment of MALT lymphomas of the central airway.

We present a case of adenoid cystic carcinoma of the trachea. The tumor could not be resected due to extensive progression but it was effectively treated endoscopically with a Nd-YAG Laser followed by 70 Gy of conventional radiotherapy. Histologically-confirmed complete remission was achieved, and the patient has lived for nearly 9 years without recurrence of disease.

A 53-year-old male with a small cell carcinoma of the lung was admitted to the Department of Respiratory Diseases, Nikko Memorial Hospital. During bronchofiberoptic examination of the cancer, a small nodule was discovered on the anterior wall of the trachea, about 8 cm below the vocal cord. Histopathologically, it was diagnosed as fibromyxoma of the trachea. Primary tumors of the trachea are very rare and fibromyxoma of the trachea is extremely rare. This is only the second report of a fibromyxoma on the tracheal wall. In this report its clinical manifestations were compared with those reported in the first case.