Primary Burkitt lymphoma of the thyroid gland: case report of an exceptional type of thyroid neoplasm and review of the literature

BACKGROUND: Primary thyroid lymphoma is an uncommon pathological entity that accounts for only 1 to 5 % of all thyroid malignancies. Primary Burkitt lymphoma of the thyroid gland is very rare. This article presents the first Moroccan case of a primary BL of the thyroid to be reported in the literature to date. CASE PRESENTATION: We describe here a case of a 70-year-old male who developed a rapidly enlarging thyroid gland with progressive symptoms of compression. Core biopsy confirmed the diagnosis of Burkitt lymphoma. The patient died of septic shock, 2 weeks after the first cycle of appropriate therapeutic chemotherapy. CONCLUSIONS: This presentation emphasizes the importance of considering lymphoma when dealing with a thyroid mass, as its management is different from that of other thyroid pathologies, and affords an opportunity to review a very rare type of primary thyroid lymphoma.