Laryngeal tuberculosis: An unsuspected danger

It is always important to treat conditions which may be cancerous with respect and, where there is suspicion, to take biopsies for histological examination. A hoarse voice may, in addition,be a sign of tuberculosis of the larynx, and the clinical appearance can be similar to a carcinoma. Preoperative chest X-ray (not always performed) and an awareness by the histologist of such a possibility are important now that this condition is increasing in frequency in parallel with conditions where immunological status is compromised.