Primary thyroid non-Hodgkin's lymphomas: clinicopathological observations on patients living in the island of Crete.

Fifteen patients with primary thyroid non-Hodgkin's lymphomas (PT-NHLs) living in the island of Crete were studied. Patients' median age was 69 years, male/female ratio 1.5/1 and stage I/stage II ratio 2/1 (stages III and IV were excluded). According to the Working Formulation Classification, 2 cases were with low, 10 with intermediate and 3 with high grade of malignancy. Remission rate was 80%, median overall survival 61 months and median disease free survival 59 months. No significant difference in survival were found between stage I and II, as well as between males and females. Conclusing, PT-NHLs in the island of Crete are more frequent in males than in females, and are predominantly (67%) of the intermediate grade of malignancy.