Korean J Head Neck Oncol.  2020 Nov;36(2):1-7. 10.21593/kjhno/2020.36.2.1.

Clinical Characteristics of Pediatric & Adolescent Thyroid Cancer: A Single Institution Experience of 20 Years

• Moon KY
• Kim K
• Bae JS
• Kim JS

• KMID: 2512820
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.21593/kjhno/2020.36.2.1

Abstract

Background/Objectives
Pediatric & Adolescent thyroid cancer is a steadily increasing malignancy. We aimed to report our experience at a single tertiary institution and to evaluate the risk factors for recurrence in pediatric & adolescent patients with differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC). Materials & Methods: The data of 42 pediatric & adolescent patients (aged ≤19 years) with DTC who underwent thyroidectomy at Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital (Seoul, Korea) between December 1997 and February 2019 were retrospectively reviewed. Clinicopathologic features and surgical outcomes were retrospectively analyzed through complete chart reviews.
Results
The mean age was 16.6 years. A total of 6 (14.3%) patients experienced recurrence after initial treatment. The recurrence rate was significantly different between total thyroidectomy (TT) and lobectomy groups (23.1% vs. 0%, p=0.038). However, no statistically significant differences were found in the recurrence rate according to lymph node ratio (LNR) of 0.4 (10.7% vs 21.4%; p=0.383). Multivariate analysis confirmed age (hazard ratio [HR], 0.443; p=0.008) and bilaterality (HR, 11.477; p=0.022) as significant risk factors for DFS.
Conclusion
Pediatric & Adolescent thyroid cancer is a rare malignancy and TT is recommended as the treatment of choice. However, lobectomy may be considered for Pediatric & Adolescent patients with age >16 years, tumor size <1 cm, and no bilateral disease.

Keyword

Pediatric & adolescent; Thyroid cancer; Thyroidectomy; Disease-free survival