Autonomous functioning nodules and thyrotoxicosis

Thyroid autonomy (Plummer's disease) with contralateral malignancy--mere coincidence?

A patient with an autonomously functioning nodule in the left lobe and a papillary carcinoma in the right lobe of the thyroid gland is described. Some evidence suggests the association to be more than coincidental.

Adenomatous goiter with hyperthyroidism

Adenomatous goiter with hyperthyroidism is a rare disease entity in Japan. Over a five-year period, we operated on 20 patients with this disease. Pre-operatively, basal thyrotropin was not necessarily suppressed and the thyrotropin-binding inhibiting immunoglobulin activity, which had been recently measured in five patients, showed normal values. Uneven patches of cold areas were noted on 131I thyroidal scintigrams. Thyroid function tests carried out three years after surgery in one lobectomy case and in eleven subtotal thyroidectomy cases revealed hypothyroidism in seven, hyperthyroidism in two and euthyroidism in only three cases. These results suggest that the pathogenesis and clinical features of adenomatous goiter with hyperthyroidism are quite different from those of Graves' disease, and that routinely performing near-total thyroidectomy may be considered as the treatment of choice.