Highlights
- •We demonstrated that becoming an adolescent is associated with an increased risk to develop thyroid cancer.
- •There were more pediatric thyroid cancer cases in female (>80%) than male, which is suggestive of a hormonal association.
- •Most cases (∼90%) underwent total thyroidectomy, aligning with ATArecommendations, both prior to and after their publication.
- •To better discern the role of puberty on thyroid cancer development, standardized criteria are needed to categorize puberty.
Abstract
Pediatric thyroid carcinoma is on the rise. We sought to better characterize patient
factors associated with this and evaluate for trends based on age groups. Additionally,
we examined surgical management over time, and whether it aligns with recommendations
made by the American Thyroid Association. Using the National Cancer Database (NCDB),
we examined cases of thyroid cancer from 2004 to 2017, ages 1–18 years. We subdivided
this cohort by age group: those <10y, 10-15y, and >15y. NCDB query yielded 5,814 cases.
The annual proportion of total cases ranged from 3% to 8% for <10y, 31%–40% for 10-15y,
and 52%–66% for >15y. 80–90% of cases in all age groups did indeed receive total thyroidectomy
which is consistent with ATA guidelines. Our results verify an overall increase in
pediatric thyroid cancer cases, occurring mostly in the 10–18 years old age range
with the largest year-to-year increases in the >15y group.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: November 29, 2022
Accepted:
November 22,
2022
Received in revised form:
November 6,
2022
Received:
July 9,
2022
Publication stage
In Press Journal Pre-ProofIdentification
Copyright
© 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
