The Therapy of Malignant Thyroid Disease from ENT-Perspective

Abstract

Malignant tumours of the thyroid gland show a rising incidence. As in the ENT-department Bad Hersfeld the management of thyroid disorders has been in focus for a longer period, we want to share our experiences in this field. The investigation started in the year of 2014 till July 2020. All patients who underwent thyroid surgery were evaluated concerning important demographic and medical parameters such as age, sex, histology, calcium, recurrent nerve palsy etc. RESULTS: So far 63 patients with a malignant thyroid disease were enrolled in this study. The sex ratio showed a preponderance of the female patients with 42 and 21 males. Age had a wide range from 11 to 95 years. Patients with a differentiated cancer were in average younger than those with anaplastic disease. Histologically the papillary variant dominated with 65 % (n = 41) the other tumours as the follicular (n = 6), the medullary (n = 5) and the anaplastic carcinoma (n = 6). In two female patients with primary hyperparathyroidism a carcinoma of the parathyroid was found surprisingly. All patients underwent surgery; those with an advanced differentiated carcinoma were treated with radioiodine additionally. To our knowledge there was just one tumour related death in case of a differentiated carcinoma, whereas all patients with an anaplastic disease died of their malignancy. The otorhinolaryngologist is involved in the management of thyroid malignancies. As well as in the benign diseases of the endocrine neck organs the interdisciplinary collaboration is mandatory for a high medical standard.