Thyroid lymphoma manifests as a rapidly enlarging neck mass which may compress the nearby trachea thereby causing narrowing or obstruction of the airway resulting in breathing difficulties or even respiratory failure.
On physical examination, affected people typically exhibit a firm thyroid gland and enlarged lymph nodes.
The CHOP regimen (cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine and prednisone) has been shown to be highly effective for many types of thyroid lymphoma.
[2] However, it is suggested to perform radiation therapy only for MALT resulting a 96% complete response, with only a 30% relapse rate.
[3][4][2] The factors of poor prognosis for people with thyroid lymphoma are advanced stage of the tumor, large size (>10 cm) as well as spreading to mediastinum.