Pediatric Differentiated Thyroid Cancer: Our Experience

To report our experience in the management of thyroid cancer in children and adolescents in a tertiary referral hospital and regional cancer institute as compared to previously published data.

A retrospective study was conducted for patients diagnosed with differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) who received treatment during the period from January 2014 to August 2018. Medical reports from our hospital database were extracted and information of those under 18 years old were discussed regarding their demographics, treatment received, and follow-up outcomes.

Out of 300 patients with DTC diagnosed in the period of study, 12 were 18 years old or less (4%). Female to male ratio was 5:1. Their ages ranged from nine to 18 years old (average: 13.1 years). One patient had a positive family history for DTC, and one patient had lung metastasis. Total thyroidectomy and postoperative ¹³¹I were performed for all patients. The median follow-up period was 1.75 years (range: six months to four years). Eleven patients have shown complete remission after treatment (91.6%), and one case has had persistent disease.

Pediatric thyroid cancer is not uncommon. Despite its aggressiveness in this age group, outcomes are more favorable than in adults. We report our experience in the diagnosis and management of pediatric DTC in our community with satisfactory outcomes and comparable results to literature reports. Future studies are needed to evaluate the long-term complications of radioiodine therapy.