MALIGNANCY IN ADENOMAS OF THE THYROID

Abstract
Except for the rare case of the microscopic diagnosis of carcinoma in hyperplastic thyroid glands, it is now quite generally accepted that the origin of cancer of the thyroid is, for practical purposes, in the preexisting adenoma of the gland. While this premise has been repeatedly promoted by us and by many others, there is still a great variation in the reported percentage incidence of malignant disease in the various types of adenomatous goiter, and there is even mild disagreement by some that the incidence of malignant degeneration in adenomatous goiter is such as to make it worth while for a patient or a physician to concern himself with it. We should particularly like to give credit to Dr. Allen Graham for his interest and persistence in clarifying and promoting the above thesis. His work in connection with malignancy in adenoma of the thyroid has been of inestimable value to