Thyroid Lymphoma Follow-up

  • Author: Fernando Cabanillas, MD; Chief Editor: Emmanuel C Besa, MD   more...
 
Updated: Aug 9, 2011
 

Further Inpatient Care

Follow-up care of patients with thyroid lymphoma is similar to the care of patients with any other lymphoma.

In brief, see patients approximately every 3 months during the first year and every 4 months during the second year. After the second year, the risk of relapse diminishes substantially for patients with tumors of the large-cell (ie, aggressive) types. In contrast, the risk of recurrence for the indolent lymphoma types (ie, low-grade variants), does not decline as sharply after 2 years of observation. After 3 years of follow-up, the probability of cure in a patient with diffuse large-cell lymphoma is more than 90%.

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Complications

Complications are usually related to adverse effects (eg, myelosuppression) of chemotherapy, which can be associated with infections or bleeding. Radiation therapy can induce xerostomia, depending on the fields used.

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Prognosis

The prognosis for patients with thyroid large-cell lymphoma usually is favorable because this condition typically presents with localized disease, which is amenable to treatment with chemotherapy and radiation. The cure rate is usually high. See Medical Care for further discussion.

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Contributor Information and Disclosures
Author

Fernando Cabanillas, MD  Adjunct Professor of Medicine, MD Anderson Cancer Center, University of Texas Medical School at Houston; Adjunct Professor, Moffitt Cancer Center; Medical Director, Auxilio Mutuo Cancer Center, Puerto Rico

Fernando Cabanillas, MD is a member of the following medical societies: Alpha Omega Alpha, American Association for Cancer Research, American Association for the Advancement of Science, American College of Physicians-American Society of Internal Medicine, American Society of Hematology, New York Academy of Sciences, and Texas Medical Association

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Specialty Editor Board

Lodovico Balducci, MD  Professor of Oncology and Medicine, University of South Florida College of Medicine; Division Chief, Senior Adult Oncology Program, H Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Francisco Talavera, PharmD, PhD  Adjunct Assistant Professor, University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Pharmacy; Editor-in-Chief, Medscape Drug Reference

Disclosure: Medscape Salary Employment

Wendy Hu, MD  Consulting Staff, Department of Hematology/Oncology and Bone Marrow Transplantation, Huntington Memorial Medical Center

Wendy Hu, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American Association for the Advancement of Science, American College of Physicians, American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation, American Society of Hematology, and Physicians for Social Responsibility

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Rajalaxmi McKenna, MD, FACP  Southwest Medical Consultants, SC, Department of Medicine, Good Samaritan Hospital, Advocate Health Systems

Rajalaxmi McKenna, MD, FACP is a member of the following medical societies: American Society of Clinical Oncology, American Society of Hematology, and International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Chief Editor

Emmanuel C Besa, MD  Professor, Department of Medicine, Division of Hematologic Malignancies, Kimmel Cancer Center, Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University

Emmanuel C Besa, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American Association for Cancer Education, American College of Clinical Pharmacology, American Federation for Medical Research, American Society of Clinical Oncology, American Society of Hematology, and New York Academy of Sciences

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

References

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  17. Glick JH, Kim K, Earle J, et al. An ECOG randomized phase III trial of CHOP vs. CHOP + radiotherapy (XRT) for intermediate grade early stage non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) [abstract]. Proceedings of the American Society of Clinical Oncology. 1995;14 (A-1221):391.

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Rapidly enlarging thyroid mass occurring in association with neck adenopathy.
 
 
 
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