Aerodigestive dysfunction secondary to thyroid tumors.

Although most thyroid tumors first manifest clinically by a neck mass, several patients with thyroid tumor have been treated whose initial complaint was a disturbance of the respiratory and digestive tracts. Because this association is not well recognized, the diagnosis of a thyroid tumor can be delayed, or even missed until the tumor grows much larger causing other symptoms. A series of 269 patients with thyroid tumors seen at UCLA from 1979-1980 was reviewed. Approximately 16% of these patients sought treatment because of aerodigestive dysfunction such as dyspnea, dysphagia, hoarseness, throat discomfort and hemoptysis. Such symptoms often indicate malignancy of substernal extension of tumor. The management of these tumors is discussed.