Fine Needle Aspiration Cytologic Findings of Thyroid Lymphoma -Report of Two Cases-

We report two different types of thyroid lymphoma associated with Hashimoto's thyroiditis. Both showed autoantibodies and were compatible with Hashimoto's thyroiditis according to their clinical backgrounds. A 76-year-old female noted a painless, rapidly growing mass in her neck which was diagnosed as diffuse non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, large cell type, after the fine needle aspiration cytology of the thyroid. She underwent chemo-radiotherapy and is free of the disease 10 months after diagnosis. The other patient, a 73-year-old female with a diffuse golfer, was diagnosed on fine needle aspiration cytology as having Hashimoto's thyroiditis. Three years later she developed a hard nodular growth in the both lobes of the thyroid. This was subjected to fine needle aspiration cytology and needle biopsy and was diagnosed as a MALT lymphoma. She refused any treatment and died 12 months after the diagnosis.