Abstract
A 63-year-old man was referred to our hospital for further evaluation and treatment of cervical lymph node swelling. CT and PET examinations revealed a tumor of the left thyroid gland and cervical lymphadenopathy. Fine-needle aspiration cytology led to the suspicion of malignant lymphoma. We made a tentative preoperative diagnosis of indolent malignant thyroid lymphoma with cervical lymphadenopathy, and performed total thyroidectomy with cervical lymph node dissection for a definitive diagnosis. We predicted a good clinical outcome of this patient with localized follicular lymphoma of the thyroid gland with cervical lymph node involvement based on the absence of both BCL2 expression and IGH-BCL2 translocation. This case of follicular lymphoma localized to the thyroid gland with cervical lymph node involvement and lacking both BCL2 expression and IGH-BCL2 translocation corresponded to Stage I-II disease encountered at other extranodal sites, which has a good clinical outcome. Similar to localized MALT lymphomas of the thyroid gland, surgical treatment alone may also be useful for localized follicular lymphoma of the thyroid gland.
