Background: Thyroid cancer has the highest prevalence of all endocrine malignancies. Malignancy can be of thyroid or non-thyroid origin. Sarcomas and primary thyroid lymphomas (PTL) are rare and surgery is treatment of choice in the former but not in latter.
Objective: To describe thyroid lymphomas histological types of thyroid cancer found in a reference center.
Methods: Medical chart review from admitted patients diagnosed with thyroid cancer in the period from january 2007 to june 2012. Demographic, diagnostic, therapeutic and histopathological information were collected.
Results: 1604 records of patients admitted with thyroid disease were reviewed. Among 307 thyroid cancer, the cases diagnosed with rare tumors were: 10 cases of anaplastic carcinoma (3.5%), followed by 4 cases of medullary carcinoma (1.3%), 1 cases of teratoma (0.03%), 2 cases of lymphoma (0.06%). The most frequent clinical presentation was a palpable thyroid nodule. All patients with lymphoma died.
Conclusion: Thyroid lymphomas are uncommon and tend to worse outcomes.