Alarming triad of progressive hoarseness in a male smoker

Abstract

Hoarseness accounts for 1% of all consultations in primary care. Suspicion of malignancy should be considered in individuals with risk factors presenting with unexplained hoarseness lasting more than two weeks. A significant number of patients with laryngeal cancer present at an advanced stage due to lack of awareness regarding vocal health. It is important to educate both the public and primary care health providers concerning laryngeal cancer. We present the case of an 81-year old male smoker who presented to us with a six-month history of progressive hoarseness. He was initially treated in two primary and one secondary care centres, where a diagnosis of laryngeal cancer was not considered. Careful assessment in our centre managed to determine a diagnosis of T3N0M0 glottic carcinoma. We will discuss this alarming triad of progressive hoarseness in a male smoker to help primary care physicians streamline their thoughts and identify red flags in a hoarse patient.

Keywords

• hoarseness
• laryngeal cancer
• glottic carcinoma
• smoker
• red flags