Aim: We aimed to determine the type and distribution of pathological conditions and lymphoproliferative disorders in examined tonsillectomy specimens, and to review our results in view of the literature findings.

Material and Methods: The pathology reports of 491 tonsillectomy specimens diagnosed between January 2000-May 2008 were screened.

Results: Totally 58 cases showing malignant infiltration in the tonsil composed of lymphoma (n:33-6%), squamous cell carcinoma (n:22-4%), plasmacytoma (n:1-1%) and malignant melanom (n:2-1%). The most common type of lymphoma in our series was diffuse large Bcell lymphoma (n:22-66%).

Conclusion: In contrast to other findings, lymphomas were the most common malignant neoplasms in the tonsillar region in our series. Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma was the most frequent type of lymphoma. We think that tonsillectomy specimens of the patients who have known clinical risk factors should be examined histopathologically, especially in adults.