Malignant lymphoma of the thyroid gland: a clinicopathologic study

This study reviews 21 cases of thyroid lymphoma diagnosed between 1969 and 1980. The thyroid gland was the primary site in all but two cases. The 20 patients with non-Hodgkin lymphoma had a mean age of 66 years, 75% were women, and all were Caucasian. A rapidly growing thyroid mass with hoarseness, dysphagia, and difficulty in breathing was the initial finding. Most patients had diffuse histiocytic lymphomas. Associated Hashimoto thyroiditis was found histologically in 57% of the cases. Using the immunoperoxidase stain method on tissue sections, intracytoplasmic monoclonal immunoglobulin was demonstrated in 5 of 15 cases. All but two patients received radiation therapy, and 13 received chemotherapy. The median survival was 8 months; 20% died of unrelated causes and 32% are alive (average duration: 27 months). Dissemination, after local control by radiation therapy, was the leading cause of death. The prognosis was better in men, in patients under the age of 65 years, and in those patients who, on biopsy, did not have involvement of the extrathyroid soft tissue or regional lymph nodes.