Struma Lymphomatosa (Hashimoto's Thyroiditis) — Observations on Repeated Biopsies in Sixteen Patients

KNOWLEDGE of the natural history of struma lymphomatosa is sparse and consists largely of speculations based on series of collected cases. Although there is general agreement on the histologic criteria for the typical "mature" case with the classic features of parenchymal atrophy and lymphoid infiltration, there is considerably less certainty about the early and later phases of the disorder. The issue whether the pathologic process is frequently progressive to an ultimate extreme of fibrosis or more often self-limited at the "mature" stage has remained unsettled. The available information has mainly stemmed from isolated case reports on 21 patients who have . . .