BACKGROUND: Thyroid nodules are less common among children than among adults. By contrast, thyroid nodules are more often malignant in childhood than in adulthood. In children, 26% of thyroid nodules are malignant, while in adults the corresponding value is 5-10%. Risk factors for developing thyroid nodules in children are female sex, post-pubertal age, previous or co-existing thyroid disease, previous irradiation of the neck, and a family history of thyroid disease. In children younger than 10 years, when no risk factors are present, the incidence rates are practically negligible. CASE REPORT: A two-year-old girl presented with a right thyroid mass. Laboratory evaluation revealed normal levels of triiodothyronine and thyroid-stimulating hormone. Thyroid ultrasonography revealed a 4.8 × 3.2 × 2.5 cm nonhomogenous nodule. The patient underwent right hemithyroidectomy. The pathology was consistent with papillary thyroid carcinoma; therefore, total thyroidectomy and selective neck dissection were performed. CONCLUSIONS: We report a very rare case of papillary thyroid carcinoma in a two-year-old child with no risk factors. The detection of a thyroid nodule in such a young child with no pre-disposing risk factors does not exclude the possibility of thyroid carcinoma and warrants careful evaluation and appropriate therapy.
BACKGROUND: Thyroid nodules are less common among children than among adults. By contrast, thyroid nodules are more often malignant in childhood than in adulthood. In children, 26% of thyroid nodules are malignant, while in adults the corresponding value is 5-10%. Risk factors for developing thyroid nodules in children are female sex, post-pubertal age, previous or co-existing thyroid disease, previous irradiation of the neck, and a family history of thyroid disease. In children younger than 10 years, when no risk factors are present, the incidence rates are practically negligible. CASE REPORT: A two-year-old girl presented with a right thyroid mass. Laboratory evaluation revealed normal levels of triiodothyronine and thyroid-stimulating hormone. Thyroid ultrasonography revealed a 4.8 × 3.2 × 2.5 cm nonhomogenous nodule. The patient underwent right hemithyroidectomy. The pathology was consistent with papillary thyroid carcinoma; therefore, total thyroidectomy and selective neck dissection were performed. CONCLUSIONS: We report a very rare case of papillary thyroid carcinoma in a two-year-old child with no risk factors. The detection of a thyroid nodule in such a young child with no pre-disposing risk factors does not exclude the possibility of thyroid carcinoma and warrants careful evaluation and appropriate therapy.