[Clinicopathologic features of primary thyroid lymphoma].

BACKGROUND &

OBJECTIVE

Primary thyroid lymphoma (PTL) is a rare disease. It is likely to be misdiagnosed, and its treatment remains controversy. This study was to investigate clinicopathologic features of PTL, and explore proper treatments.

METHODS

Records of 22 patients with PTL treated in Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences from Jan.1990 to Jan. 2004 were retrospectively analyzed.

RESULTS

Of the 22 patients, 18 were women, 4 were men. The median age is 55 (33-80) years. All patients were B-cell original; according to WHO classification, 16 (72.7%) were diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), and 6 (27.3%) were mucosa associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma. Five patients received surgery alone; 7 received radiotherapy after surgery, 6 received chemotherapy after surgery, 4 received chemotherapy and radiotherapy after surgery. With a median follow-up of 42 (1-168) months, 5-year relapse-free survival rate was 34.78%, and 5-year overall survival rate was 37.36%.

CONCLUSIONS

PTL typically occurs in women. The majority of PTL is B-cell original; DLBCL, and MALT lymphoma were the most common histological subtypes. Patients with PTL of stage IE or IIE should be treated with surgery-based combined modality.