[Life expectancy in thyroid cancer in youth. Report on experiences with 28 cases]

28 cases of juvenile struma maligna are reported. One case, followed for 31 years, finally died as the only one out of this number. Since her 21st year of life multiple pulmonary metastases were known. This patient did well till her day of death and refused all therapy. She died because of general metastatic spread. No change of tumour's histology was observed. In case of thyroid carcinoma, pulmonary and bone metastases are frequent, whereas cerebral metastases are rare. Out of an autopsy material of 83 thyroid carcinomas, according to Walther, 77 patients showed pulmonary and bone metastases, but only 7 cerebral ones. It is pointed out that the thyroid carcinoma of the youth has a chronic course of the disease in spite of pulmonary metastases. This is a peculiar nature of this malignancy contrary to other carcinomas occurring in the young.