Clinico-statistical Considerations on Thyroid Cancer in the Youth

On a series of 220 patients with carcinoma of the thyroid, 17 (10 females and 7 males) were under the 24th year of age. In four cases the tumor was diagnosed between the 5th and the 14th year of age and in 13 cases between the 15th and the 24th year; there were 13 cases of papillary adenocarcinoma, 2 cases of follicular adenocarcinoma, and 2 cases of solid carcinoma. In 7 cases the tumor was preceded by the appearance of goiter; only one patient had been previously irradiated. The first clinical sign of disease was a thyroid nodule in 10 cases, metastases to cervical lymph nodes in 7 cases; in 3 of these last cases primary neoplasia of the thyroid remained clinically occult. Scanning with I¹⁸¹ was used in 13 cases for the diagnosis of thyroid cancer. Surgical and radiological therapies were associated in all cases; the enucleation of the tumor was performed in one case, emithyroidectomy in 7 cases, total thyroidectomy in 6 cases. Surgery was limited to dissection of the neck in 3 cases. In addition, thyroidectomy was associated to radical neck dissection in 9 cases with metastases. In all cases I¹⁸¹ was administered; in 7 cases it was associated to X-therapy and in 8 cases to telecobaltotherapy. One patient is alive 3 months after the beginning of the treatment, 6 patients from 1 to 3 years, 3 patients from 5 to 6 years, 2 patients after 8 years and 5 patients from 10 to 15 years.