Thyroid carcinoma.

The mode of presentation, initial findings, treatment, and survival in differentiated thyroid carcinoma were studied in 155 patients. The classic signs, symptoms, and scan findings were present in approximately 70 per cent of the patients, with the remaining 30 per cent displaying unusual manifestations or findings. The effects of neck metastases, extracapsular invasion, and recurrent laryngeal nerve involvement on long-term survival were studied in detail. Prognosis was dependent more on age at initial appearance than any other factor. Patients with prior exposure to radiation had more extensive disease and required more extensive surgery, but they ultimately had the same prognosis for 10-year cure. Treatment of distant metastatic disease by surgery, radioactive iodine, and external radiation resulted in long-term survival in certain cases.