Objective: To explore the principles of diagnosis and treatment of chronic lymphocytic thyroiditis (CLT) coexistent with thyroid malignancy.
Methods: The clinical data of 52 patients with CLT, including clinicopathologic features, treatment, and prognosis were retrospectively analyzed. Among these 52 patients, 40 patients had coexisting thyroid carcinoma (TC group) and 12 had coexisting thyroid lymphoma (TL group).
Results: These two thyroid malignancies accounted for 13.87% of all the CLT inpatients during this period, in which 10.67% were CLT with carcinoma and 3.20% were CLT with lymphoma. Significant differences existed between TC group and TL group in sex (P = 0.008) , age (P = 0.000), and B-mode ultrasound findings (P = 0.000). Most patients in TC group received total lobectomy of one lobe and subtotal lobectomy of the other side, of which some received elective lymphadenectomy. The operations varied among patients in TL group, and most of them received chemotherapy after surgery. The median follow-up was (35.51 +/- 39.84) months for 37 patients in TC group, and 36 patients survived with a median period of (34.50 +/- 39.91) months; the median follow-up was (39.50 +/- 29.00) months for 12 patients in TL group, and 10 patients survived with a median period of (44.70 +/- 28.78) months.
Conclusions: CLT with thyroid malignancies are not uncommon in clinical practice. While thyroid carcinoma accounts for majority of these malignancies, its clinicopathologic features, treatment, and prognosis differs with thyroid lymphoma. Surgery may be appropriate for CLT patients with rapid thyroid enlargement or nodule, and for patients with solitary solid nodule or nodules with calcification revealed by B ultrasound.