The surgery to be applied for cancer of the thyroid continues to be controversial. Because of the multiplicity of characteristics and the unlimited predictability of this disease, the short-term surgical follow-up studies usually reported have been found difficult to appraise. Long follow-up observations would, if available, bring in the many variables of life. It is, of course, extremely important to determine now, if possible, and from existing data whether the proper surgical therapy is being applied.
This paper presents the cases of thyroid cancer seen for their pathological diagnosis and surgical treatment at The Johns Hopkins Hospital from 1930 to 1956. In an attempt to evaluate the effect of the surgical treatment on the course of the cancer, the pathogenesis of recurrences and cancer death have been related to the extent of the original surgery.
Material and Observations
One hundred thirty-nine cases of cancer of the thyroid were primarily diagnosed