Differential diagnosis problems in a patient with dysphonia and chronic lymphocytic leukemia

Dysphonia is frequently an expression of laryngitis, especially when it comes in the evolution of an immunosuppressed patient, as happens in chronic lymphoproliferation. But other causes of dysphonia should also not be forgotten, including the possibility of new malignancies, especially due to the fact that these patients have genomic instability that predisposes to appearance of a second or even a third cancer. We present the case of a patient who developed dysphonia during chronic lymphocytic leukemia evolution. Its etiology was a mediastinal compression through lymph nodes, not linked to leukemia, but produced by metastases of a bronchopulmonary cancer, appeared recently. Dysphonia condition due to vocal cord dysfunction must include diseases of the mediastinum, the neck and the brain stem. The rapid and correct diagnosis and the prompt start of an appropriate treatment are of paramount importance for clinician who manage their care and for patient survival.