A highly suspected radiation-associated thyroid cancer: report of 1 case

The association between head and neck irradiation and the development of malignant thyroid tumor is well established. The first case was detected by Duff and Fitzgerald in 1950, and it was well documented in publications during the 1950's and early 1960's. But it was rarely reported in Taiwan. Incident rates of irradiation-induced thyroid cancer of 6% to 7% have been reported. These patients developed tumors on an average of 20 years after X-ray exposure and were nearly all under 35 years of age. We reported a case with a female patient, who was treated with 60Co for eosinophilic granuloma in her occipital area at the age of 4 to 5 years. Twenty years later, it was observed that she had developed thyroid cancer. We once again refer to the literature to draw the attention to the public in regard to radiation-associated thyroid cancer in Taiwan.