Paediatric thyroid cancer: the Scottish experience

Paediatric thyroid cancer is a rare disease, making diagnosis and treatment particularly challenging. Here we present the Scottish experience of thyroid cancer in the paediatric population and give an overview of how a child or adolescent that presents with a thyroid nodule should be investigated and managed.

Data has been obtained from ISD Scotland, giving population-based information on paediatric thyroid cancer. A literature review has been performed on the management and treatment of thyroid cancer in the younger population. Paediatric thyroid cancer in Scotland is a rare disease, although the incidence is increasing each year. In general, differentiated paediatric thyroid cancer carries a good prognosis, while the results are more mixed in the rarer pathologies such as medullary cancer.

Due to the small numbers of patients diagnosed each year in Scotland, it is imperative that these patients are discussed at a multidisciplinary thyroid MDT and managed in a tertiary referral centre by consultants and medical/nursing support staff who have experience in treating these patients.