The otorhinolaryngologist often encounters patients with pathological findings in the thyroid gland which may be overlooked if he is not aware. Alarming symptoms are rarely present in a goiter which is undergoing malignant change. Papillary and follicular carcinomas can exist over long periods of time as nodular goiters with globus symptoms or are discovered after cervical lymph nodes have appeared. The discovery of a goiter is thus of clinical importance regardless of the patient's age. Diagnostic iodine isotope scanning and cytological analysis is to be recommended as a matter of general policy. Excellent results in the treatment of papillary carcinoma can be obtained by subtotal thyroidectomy with modified neck dissection, followed by isotope elimination of remaining thyroid tissue.