Thyroidectomy and neck dissection for the carcinoma of the thyroid gland in children

A peculiarity in thyroid cancer in children is discussed in terms of clinical course and pathology. A case report of well differentiated papillary carcinoma of the thyroid gland in a 6-year-old boy is presented, with emphasis on the clinical course and pathology. The clinical course indicated a slowly growing, firm tumor lateral to the superior cornu of the thyroid cartilage, up to the hyoid bone. As treatment of the tumor and its lymph node metastases, a hemithyroidectomy with simple neck dissection was performed. Thyroid hormone was administered for suppression of endogenous thyroid-stimulating hormone postoperatively, and the patient tolerated this therapy well. An review of the literature dealing with the question of whether or not a radical neck dissection is appropriate in thyroid cancer in children was carried out.