Background: Thyroid lymphoma is rare, with no standard therapeutic protocol. Radiotherapy is often employed.
Patients and methods: Nine patients who had received radiotherapy for thyroid lymphoma in our Institute, from September 2005 to August 2013, were reviewed for hypothyroidism. The median radiation dose was 40 Gy. Thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) levels were measured before and after radiotherapy, and hypothyroidism was defined as a TSH level exceeding 10 mIU/l. Peak TSH was defined as the highest TSH level during the follow-up period.
Results: The complete response rate was 77.8%, and the 5-year overall survival rate was 74.1%. The median time-to-peak TSH was 162.5 days after the start of radiotherapy. Hypothyroidism was diagnosed in three (37.5%) out of eight patients without thyroidectomy.
Conclusion: Hypothyroidism is a frequent complication of radiotherapy for thyroid lymphoma.
Keywords: Thyroid; hypothyroidism; malignant lymphoma; radiotherapy; thyrotropin.
Copyright© 2014 International Institute of Anticancer Research (Dr. John G. Delinassios), All rights reserved.