Thyroid cancer is a rare disease in pediatric population, but its incidence rate is increasing. The aim of this report is to present a single institution experience of pediatric thyroid cancer and to identify clinical features, predisposing factors, and postoperative course of pediatric thyroid cancer.
We retrospectively reviewed 35 pediatric patients who underwent operation due to thyroid cancer at Seoul National University Children's Hospital between May 1997 and January 2017. The median follow-up period was 70 months (range, 5–238 months).
The mean age at operation was 12.0±5.91 years and 27 patients were female. The underlying conditions in patients included history of chemoradiotherapy for previous other malignancies (n=4), hypothyroidism (n=3), history of chemotherapy (n=2), family history of thyroid cancer (n=1) and history of radiation therapy (n=1). The initial symptoms were palpable neck mass (n=21) and incidental findings (n=11). Total thyroidectomy (n=30) or unilateral lobectomy (n=5) were performed. There were 15 postoperative complications including transient hypocalcemia in 14 patients and Horner's syndrome in 1 patient. The most common pathologic cell type was papillary thyroid cancer (n=29). Extrathyroid extension and lymph node invasion were found in 25 patients and 27 patients, respectively. Thirteen patients showed multifocality. During follow-up period, 5 patients underwent additional operation because of tumor recurrence in lymph nodes. Lung metastasis was detected in 3 patients at the time of diagnosis and in 3 patients during follow-up period. The mortality rate was zero and mean disease-free survival was 83.7±47.9 months.
Pediatric thyroid cancer has lower mortality rate and recurrence rate as seen in this study despite the advanced stage at diagnosis. A thorough follow-up of patients with an underlying condition such as history of chemoradiotherapy and understanding new pediatric guideline can be helpful to maximize patients' survival and prognosis.
Thyroid nodules are less common in children than in adults and their management is still controversial. The clinical presentations, operations, complications, histopathologic findings, and postoperative progressions of 34 pediatric patients that underwent thyroidectomy for palpable thyroid nodule at the Department of Surgery, Seoul National University Children Hospital between 1986 and 2003 were studied retrospectively by reviewing medical records and telephone interviews. The mean age of the patients was 11.8 years old. There were 23 females (67.6 %) and 11 males (32.4 %). Surgical indications were clinical need of histological confirmation (n=15), unresponsiveness to thyroxin replacement therapy (n=10), suggestion of the carcinoma on fine needle aspiration cytology (n=5), cosmetic purpose-a huge benign nodule (n=2), completion thyroidectomy for medullary thyroid carcinoma (n=1), and prophylactic thyroidectomy in a MENIIpatient (n=1). Unilateral Lobectomy was performed in 20 patients (57.1 %), subtotal thyroidectomy in 8 (22.9 %), total thyroidectomy in 5 (14.7 %), and completion thyroidectomy in 1 (2.9 %). Lymph node dissection was performed in 9 cases. Benign tumor was found in 23 patients (67.6 %), adenomatous goiter (n=18) and follicular adenoma (n=5). Malignant tumor was found in 11 children (32.4 %), 9 papillary carcinomas (26.5 %), and 2 medullary carcinomas (5.9 %). Of the 9 papillary carcinomas, 7 cases (77.8 %) had lymph node metastasis. No lymph node metastasis was found in 2 medullary carcinomas. Complications developed in 5 cases - transient hypocalcaemia (n=2), and temporary hoarseness (n=3). There was no mortality. Median follow-up period was 7.4 years (0.5-18 years). One patient showed recurrence in cervical lymph nodes 10 years after surgery and modified radical neck dissection was performed. Because of the high incidence of malignancy and advanced stage at initial presentation, more meticulous diagnostic work up is necessary for children with thyroid nodule, and more radical surgical treatment should be performed when malignant nodule is suggested.
Thyroid carcinoma is relatively rare in children. Eight cases of thyroid carcinoma were among 18 patients operated upon for thyroid tumors at Pediatric Surgery, Asan Medical Center in 11 years' period between 1989 and 2000. Five patients were boys and three were girls. The age distribution ranged from 10 to 14 years with a median age of 11.6 years. We studied clinical presentations, diagnostic workup, pathology, treatment, and follow-up (recurrence, mortality, and survival). All patients presented with anterior neck mass but one with multiple cervical lymph nodes enlargement. Familial history of thyroid cancer was seen in one case. All patients had a cold nodule by I-131 thyroid scan. Fine needle aspiration (FNA) biopsy was performed in all patients. The right lobe was involved in four patients and the left lobe in two. Two had both lobes involvement. Pathologically, six cases were papillary carcinoma, one was follicular carcinoma, and one insular carcinoma. Four patients underwent unilateral lobectomy and isthmectomy. Total thyroidectomy was performed in three patients. The insular carcinoma case was preoperatively diagnosed as follicular neoplasm by FNA. After confirmation of the pathology by initial right thyroid lobectomy, total thyroidectomy was subsequently done. Cervical lymph node metastases were presented in three cases (37.5%), and lung metastasis in two cases (25%). Three patients received postoperative 1-131 ablation. After a median follow-up of 53 months, all patients were alive without evidence of recurrence. In conclusion, thyroid carcinoma in children is frequently associated with lymph nodes involvement and distant metastasis, however, the prognosis is relatively good.
A case of primary hyperparathyroidism due to parathyroid adenoma is presented. A 14-y-o male came in with voiding difficulty. The intravenous pyelogram (IVP) demonstrated a stone at the proximal one third of the left ureter and marked hydronephrosis of the left kidney, and the Tc-99m sestamibi nuclear scan demonstrated an hot spot below the lower pole of the left lobe of the thyroid. Laboratory study demonstrated hypercalcemia (12.4mg/dL) and elevated parathyroid hormone (143.67pg/mL). The excised parathyroid gland which was located below the lower pole of the left lobe of the thyroid, turned out to be parathyroid adenoma, consisting of mainly chief cells. Postoperatively he complained of transient hypocalcemic symptoms, which resolved by administration of calcium preparation and vitamin D.
A 17 month-old girl presented in the pediatric clinic on November 27th, 1990 with a neck mass. The mass was 2 cm in diameter, firm in consistency and movable on the upper pole of the thyroid cartilage in the midline. The technetium thyroid scan showed a hot reactivity at the compatible site of the mass, but no other radioactivity in either site of the normal thyroid positions. At her second visit on January 23th, 1996, the mass had enlarged up to 3.5cm in diameter in the same location of the neck. The follow up thyroid scan revealed a walnut sized, snowman-like radioactivity. One of the snowman-like double images seemed to be a lingual ectopic thyroid and the other a midline ectopic thyroid remnant in the infrahyoid level. This interpretation was supported by the computed tomography of the neck, which showed a ligual mass in the foramen cecum area and an another mass in the anterior comis-sure of the larynx in the mildline. Thyroid function test was normal except a slightly increased TSH. As a result of this changing pattern of thyroid radioactive images, a case of a lingual thyroid as well as another midline ectopic thyroid tissue at the infra hyoid level is reported.
First
Prev
