ESPE Abstracts

Introduction: Thyroid cancer is rare in the pediatric population, but the incidence is increasing every year. Thyroid nodules are known to be less common in children than in adult, but it is one of the most common endocrine malignancies in the pediatric population. The tumor can develop at any age, but is more common in adolescence and is the second most common tumor in adolescents. Differentiated thyroid carcinoma includes two different types, papillary thyroid carcinoma and follicular thyroid carcinoma. Both of these type develop from thyroid cells, which normally produce thyroid hormone. Papillary thyroid cancer is most common type of cancer in children, grows very slowly. Follicular thyroid cancer is less common and spreads to the neck through blood vessels, causing the cancer to spread to other parts of the body, making the disease more difficult and uncontrollable. Medular - rare form of thyroid cancer develops in cells that produce calcitonin. Cancer aggression is spread to other parts of the body. In the pediatric population is usually associated with specific congenital genetic conditions (MEN2).

Objective: Collect and evaluate data on patients with thyroid cancer. To find out the prevalence of cancer type in the pediatric population, between the sexes and in Latvia in general. Identify and summarize the most common clinical symptoms in children with different types of thyroid cancer. Evaluate the long-term effectiveness of therapy.

Methods: Data on children with a confirmed diagnosis of thyroid carcinoma in a pediatric clinical hospital in Latvia were collected. Patients were selected for period from 1990 to 2022. There were 25 case of patients with a confirmed diagnosis. Including 15 girls and 10 boys. The population of diagnosed patients was compared with other countries, the most common type of cancer and the distribution by age groups.

Results: 60% of diagnosed tumor confirm papillary tumor on biopsy and only 16% of all cases are detected by MEN 2. The youngest patient has reached the age of 5, the oldest is 17 years. In 75% of patients, TIRAD 4-5 is detected on primary ultrasonography.

Conclusion: Thyroid tumors are a rare pathology in the pediatric population in Latvia. The number of patients with thyroid cancer is growing every year. The statistics are worsened by the average age at which a thyroid tumor is diagnosed. Pacients are delayed to confirm the diagnosis due to non-specific clinic. Tirad 4-5 of papillary carcinoma is stastically more common.