• Alexandra E Quimby, Lisa Caulley, Danielle Rodin, Bibianna Purgina, Libni Eapen, Luke Shier, and Stephanie Johnson-Obaseki.
• Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, University of Ottawa, 501 Smyth Rd, Ottawa, ON, K1H 8L6, Canada. aquim047@uottawa.ca.
• J Med Case Rep. 2017 Mar 10; 11 (1): 65.

BackgroundBurkitt lymphoma is a high-grade B cell lymphoma which accounts for less than 1% of all adult cases of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Rare instances of Burkitt lymphoma developing secondary to prior irradiation have been described in the literature.Case PresentationWe report a case of a 90-year-old white woman with a recent history of irradiation for Hodgkin lymphoma, who presented with primary Burkitt lymphoma of the supraglottic larynx. She underwent emergency awake tracheostomy with biopsy. A histopathological examination confirmed non-Hodgkin, B cell lymphoma of Burkitt type. Given her age and poor functional status, she underwent treatment with palliative radiotherapy.ConclusionsA literature review was performed to clarify the clinical characteristics of radiation-induced Burkitt lymphoma in the head and neck, as well as its diagnosis and management. The present case represents the second case of radiation-induced Burkitt lymphoma in the head and neck in the reported literature, and the first in the supraglottic larynx. It highlights the need to maintain a broad differential in the assessment of malignancies of the larynx, particularly in patients with a prior history of radiation treatment.

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