Pediatric Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma: Outcomes After Surgery Without Adjuvant Radioactive Iodine

Abstract

Context Pediatric papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) is usually treated with total thyroidectomy followed by radioactive iodine (RAI). Recently, RAI has been used more selectively based on surgical pathology and postoperative dynamic risk stratification (DRS). Objective To describe patients with pediatric PTC not initially treated with RAI and their disease outcomes. Methods This was an ambispective study at a tertiary cancer center of patients < 19 years diagnosed from January 1, 1990, to December 31, 2021, with stage 1 PTC who intentionally were not treated with RAI within a year of diagnosis. We assessed clinical characteristics, management, and disease outcomes using DRS. Results Of 490 PTC patients, we identified 93 eligible patients (median age at diagnosis 16 years; 87% female), including 46 (49%) with cervical lymph node metastases. Initial management included total thyroidectomy ± neck dissection (n = 69, 75%), lobectomy ± neck dissection (n = 20, 21%), or a Sistrunk procedure for ectopic PTC (n = 4, 4%). After a median follow-up of 5.5 years (range 1-26), most patients (85/93; 91%) remained disease-free with no further therapy. Persistent (n = 5) or recurrent (n = 3) disease was found in 9% of the entire cohort. Four patients ultimately received RAI, of which only 1 clearly benefitted, and additional surgery was performed or planned in 4 patients, 2 of whom had an excellent response at last follow-up. Conclusion Selected pediatric PTC patients, even those with lymph node metastases, may not require therapeutic 131I and can avoid the unnecessary risks of RAI while still benefitting from the excellent long-term outcomes that are well described for this disease.