Thyroidectomy associated with laryngectomy in laryngeal cancer treatment

Abstract

Objectives: Surgery is still the first line therapy in advanced laryngeal cancer. Especially in T3 and T4 laryngeal cancer total laryngectomy is performed frequently. In some publications, synchronous ipsilateral thyroidectomy is recommended if extralaryngeal or subglottic invasion is identified. However, hypothyroidism and hypocalcemia were determined in patients after thyroidectomy. In this study we aimed to determine whether thyroidectomy is necessary in the management of advanced laryngeal cancer or not.Methods: We investigated 41 laryngeal cancer patients that had underwent total laryngectomy and ipsilateral thyroidectomy synchronously between 1993 and 2004. The percentage of thyroid invasion of primary tumor was evaluated.Results: We identified only one thyroid metastasis in 41 patients. In 40 patients no thyroid invasion was found.Conclusion: These results were consistent with the literature in which synchronous thyroidectomy was recommended only in selected cases.

Keywords

• laryngeal cancer
• laryngectomy
• thyroidectomy