The usefulness of serial ultrasound in thyroid mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma

Simultaneous primary thyroid MALT lymphoma and papillary thyroid cancer

The mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma subtype, specifically extranodal marginal zone B-cell lymphoma, is a rare variant. Within this subtype, primary thyroid MALT lymphoma is an uncommon occurrence. The literature provides limited documentation on thyroid MALT lymphomas, as their prevalence is comparatively lower than in other organ sites. The coexistence of papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) and thyroid MALT lymphomas is exceedingly rare. It presents a rare case of primary thyroid MALT lymphoma accompanied by PTC, thyroid lymphoma not being considered before surgery. A 64-year-old female patient, who had been experiencing symptoms related to a substantial thyroid tumor for a duration of three years, she refused to do a needle biopsy before surgery and expressed a preference for surgical resection. Consequently, the patient underwent a total thyroidectomy along with lymphadenectomy of the central compartment. A histological examination subsequently confirmed the presence of papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) and mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma. Due to the favorable response of the MALT lymphoma to local treatment and the absence of metastasis in other organs, no further treatment was administered for the MALT lymphoma following the surgery. Currently, the patient exhibits no signs of tumor recurrence based on ultrasound and laboratory evaluations. We also provide an overview of the clinical findings on PTC and MALT lymphoma patients already reported and discuss the possible treatment strategy.

Clinical value of contrast-enhanced ultrasound quantitative analysis for differentiating thyroid lesions in Hashimoto's thyroiditis patients

Background

The role of quantitative contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) in the evaluation of thyroid nodules with Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT) has received little attention.

Methods

This was a retrospective cohort study. We consecutively enrolled 242 patients (49 males, 193 females, average age 52 years) with a combined total of 248 thyroid nodules coexisting with HT who underwent biopsy/resection-proven pathology from December 2016 to June 2021. All patients underwent preoperative ultrasound (US) and CEUS examinations performed by 2 radiologists independently. Quantitative analysis of CEUS using time-intensity curves (TIC) was measured by an expert radiologist from the thyroid intra-nodule and the surrounding parenchyma and their ratios. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was performed to evaluate their diagnostic performance.

Results

The patients were divided into the nodular HT (NHT) group (n=42), the papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) group (n=154), and the primary thyroid lymphoma (PTL) group (n=52) according to their pathological results. TIC parameters revealed that PTC and PTL showed faster time to peak (TTP) (P=0.044, P=0.049), lower peak intensity (PI) (both P<0.001), and smaller areas under the curve (both P<0.001) than those of NHT. The intra nodule of PTL showed an obviously slower perfusion (ratio =0.90, P<0.001) and lower PI (ratio =0.84, P<0.001) compared with the thyroid parenchyma. TIC improved performance in distinguishing PTL from NHT [area under the curve (AUC): 0.947, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.903-0.991], but inferior performance in differentiating PTC and NHT (AUC: 0.838, 95% CI: 0.759-0.917).

Conclusions

CEUS quantitative analysis could be valuable in differentiating thyroid malignancies in patients with HT.