Primary Tracheal Lymphoma Causing Respiratory Failure

Abstract Lymphomatous involvement of the airway causing stridor is a rare but frightening presentation of an eminently treatable condition. We describe a 24-year-old woman with tracheal non-Hodgkin lymphoma who was initially diagnosed with asthma, but subsequently presented with near-fatal acute upper airway obstruction because of a tracheal Anaplastic Lymphoma Kinase (ALK)+ anaplastic T-cell lymphoma. The obstructing tumor was extricated by means of rigid bronchoscopy. After six cycles of Cyclophosphamide, Doxorubicin, Vincristine, Prednisolone chemotherapy, the patient went into complete clinical remission. A high index of suspicion in patients with dyspnoea and wheeze unresponsive to bronchodilators is crucial in early diagnosis of tracheal tumors.