Study of the thyroid gland involvement in laryngeal and hypopharyngeal cancers

ABSTRACT

Twenty case of laryngeal and hypopharyngeal cancers treated with radical surgery were studied. These were 16 males and four females with their ages ranging from 43 to 71 years. The cases included four supraglattic cancers, five cordal cancers, one case of subglottic cancer, four cases of postcricoid cancer and one case of cancer of the pyriform fossa. All cases were squamous cell carcinomas. Serial sectioning of the thyroid gland showed its involvement in three instances one case of postcricoid carcinoma that spread to the gland via lymphatic channels; and two cases of transglottic cancers. In one of these, tumor spread through the thyroid cartilage to involve the thyroid gland occured; while in the other case, involvement of the gland was by direct spread from the involved prelaryngeal lymph node. Total thyroidectomy is essential when resecting post-cricoid or subglottic cancers