Consideraciones para el diagnóstico de linfoma primario de tiroides: esperiencia en 6 casos / Primary thyroid lymphoma: report of six cases

ABSTRACT

Background: Primary thyroid lymphoma is uncommon but must be suspected in certain clinical situations. Aim: To report a series of six patients with primary thyroid lymphoma. Patients and Methods: Six patients aged 50 to 84 years (five women), treated between 2004 and 2010. All patients had rapidly growing cervical mass; four had compressive signs and symptoms. In three cases the lymphoma was associated to Hashimoto's thyroiditis. Needle biopsy was performed in three patients. In one case was diagnostic for lymphoma and in the other two was suspicious. Five patients had a diffuse large B cell lymphoma, one of them associated to an extranodal marginal zone B cell lymphoma. One patient had a follicular lymphoma. Conclusions: Thyroid lymphoma must be suspected in female patients with rapidly growing cervical mass, older than fifty years, with a nodular goiter suspicious of malignancy (firm, non-tender, fixed and associated to compression signs). The diagnostic must be confirmed with a needle biopsy (fine needle or TrueCut®) and, if it's necessary open biopsy.