Frequency of Malignancy in Retrosternal Multinodular Goiter

Retrosternal Multinodular Goiter (MNG) was a condition often associated with benign thyroid disease, but it may harbor undetected malignancies. Accurate diagnosis was essential to avoid complications during and after surgery. Objective: To determine the frequency of malignancy in patients undergoing total thyroidectomy for retrosternal multinodular goiter. Methods: This retrospective observational study included data of 80 patients, aged 40 years or more who underwent total thyroidectomy for retrosternal multinodular goiter. Data of patients with smoking history, recurrent goiter, previous neck surgeries, solitary nodules, metastatic lymphadenopathy, Graves’ disease, known carcinoma thyroid, or associated carcinoma of other organs were excluded. Thyroidectomy was performed via cervical incision, with or without sternotomy. Histopathological examination of the excised thyroid tissue was conducted. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 25.0. The quantitative variables were shown in tables as mean ± standard error, and qualitative data as frequency (percentage); N (%). Results: According to the results, 14 (17.5%) patients were aged 40-50 years, 47 (58.75%) were aged 51-60 years, and 19 (23.75%) were aged 61-70 years. Histopathological examination revealed thyroid malignancy in 10% of the cases. Conclusion: A notable percentage of patients with retrosternal multinodular goiter were found to have malignancy that was not detected in preoperative investigations.