Rapidly growing oropharyngeal cancer with a 6-month course.

A male patient in his 70s who had undergone a regular upper gastrointestinal endoscopy noted a flat, erythematous area on the right soft palate of the oropharynx 9 months after his treatment of oropharyngeal cancer. Six months after noticing the lesion, endoscopy revealed that the lesion had rapidly developed into a thick, erythematous, bump. Endoscopic submucosal dissection was performed. Pathological analysis of the resected tissue found a squamous cell carcinoma with a thickness of 1400 μm invading the subepithelial layer. There are few reports on the growth speed of pharyngeal cancer and it remains unclear. In some cases, the growth of the pharyngeal cancer may be rapid, and it is important to follow up the patient in a short period of time.
(© 2023. Japanese Society of Gastroenterology.)