Recent Trends in the Clinicopathological Features of Thyroid Nodules in Pediatric Patients: A Single Tertiary Center Experience over 25 Years

Abstract

Background. The trends in pediatric patients having thyroid nodules have not been well evaluated. Here, we analyzed the clinicopathological features of the children who have presented with thyroid nodules at our center over several decades in order to determine a change of trend. Materials and Methods. We analyzed 215 pediatric patients who had undergone a thyroidectomy between 1990 and 2014 at our single tertiary center. The clinicopathological features were analyzed according to age, sex, and the year of diagnosis. Results. The most common reason for hospital admission was a palpable anterior neck mass (76.7%). The males in the patient cohort were younger than the females (13 vs. 15 years old, p<0.05). The female patients increased from 50.0% to 83.0% with age (p<0.05). The rate of malignancy did not increase with age (p<0.05). However, the malignancy rate was higher in the more recently seen patients (23.8% during the early study period and 86.8% in the late study period; p<0.05). Conclusion. Following a thyroidectomy in children with thyroid nodules, there was no change in the rate of detection of thyroid cancer over time with age, although the detected frequency of malignancy has increased in more recent patients. Therefore, early thyroid nodule detection for malignant screening is likely to be required for pediatric patients in the near future.

Patterns and Predictors of Metastatic Spread to the Neck in Pediatric Thyroid Carcinoma

“…The mean patient age was 14.3 years and there were twice as many females than males with DTC. This mean age and preponderance towards females have been reported previously in large pediatric studies 5,15,16 . In our study, the female to male ratio was 1:1 in younger patients and 3:1 in older patients.…”

“…In our study, the female to male ratio was 1:1 in younger patients and 3:1 in older patients. An increase in female preponderance of DTC with increasing age in children has recently been described 15 …”

“…Lymphatic invasion, extracapsular extension and positive resection margins were significant predictors of nodal spread prior to adjustment for multiple comparisons, and lymphatic invasion remained a predictor after adjustment. Although these features have been associated with increased risk of nodal metastasis in adults with PTC, risk factors for lymphatic spread have not been widely investigated in children 3,5,7,8,15,21,23,24 . Interestingly, Demidchik found young age at diagnosis, multifocality, lobectomy and subtotal thyroidectomy to be risk factors for lymphatic spread in children 7 .…”

Genetic Landscape of Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma and Nuclear Architecture: An Overview Comparing Pediatric and Adult Populations

“…Though the recurrence rates are higher than in adults, pediatric PTC has a better long-term outcome, with minimal or no mortality in most cases [54,57,58]. Pediatric PTC typically manifests as a palpable thyroid nodule/tumor, with or without cervical lymphadenopathy [59]. Although rare in children and adolescents, the presence of nodules in pediatric patients is clinically important.…”

Automatic segmentation of thyroid nodule from ultrasound images using spatial-channel attentive U-Net

“…As a common disease in the clinic, thyroid nodule refers to the generated lump inside the thyroid. In population, its incidence is about 65% and keeps growing in recent years [1]. As the most popular and reliable imaging modality, a highresolution ultrasound image is of great significance for the diagnosis of thyroid nodules due to its rapid imaging speed and non-invasion [2].…”