Bilateral vocal cord paralysis due to laryngeal carcinoma in Parkinson's disease

A laryngeal carcinoma presenting as severe dyspnea and stridor due to bilateral vocal cord paralysis was found in a 66-year-old man who had been suffering from Parkinson's disease (PD) for twenty years. Although laryngeal carcinoma is a common cause of bilateral vocal cord paralysis, patients with PD have been suspected to have a low cancer incidence, and this may be the first case report. Therapeutics have extended the survival of patients with PD, and the possibility of developing vocal cord paralysis. Thus, it is important for the physician to be aware that this condition may be caused by carcinoma even in PD cases.