Abstract:Objective:To investigate the clinicopathologic characteristics and therapy of thyroid carcinoma in children.
Methods:A retrospective review of the clinical data of 26 childhood patients with thyroid carcinoma treated in the Second Affiliated Hospital, Nanchang University from Jan 1990 to Dec 2005 was conducted.
Results:There were 15 girls and 11 boys in this series. All cases were diagnosed by histological evaluation: papillary carcinoma was diagnosed in 14, follicular carcinoma in 9, papillary follicular carcinoma in 2 and medullary carcinoma in 1. Cervical lymph node metastasis was found in 21 patients (80.8%). Among them, 1 underwent tumor enucleation, 5 underwent unilateral lobectomy and unilateral central compartment lymph node clearance, 15 underwent unilateral lobectomy and unilateral neck dissection, and 5 underwent neartotal or total thyroidectomy and bilateral neck dissection. All patients were followed up with tumor-free survival in 24 cases. The 5- and 7-year survival rate was 96.2% and 91.6%, respectively.Three patients required intravenous calcium supplementation postoperatively, but there was not a single case of permanent hypoparathyriodism or recurrent nerve paralysis during follow-up.
Conclusions:Almost thyroid carcinoma in children are differentiated carcinomas, the prognosis is significantly better after surgical treatment.