New Guidelines Focus on Pediatric Thyroid Nodules and Cancer

The push to limit the use of radioactive iodine in children further underscores the need for an experienced surgeon, he said.

“In an effort to avoid exposing children to radiation, surgeons are further pushed to be more aggressive in the operating room. Thus, it becomes even more important to see an experienced surgeon so that complications can be minimized. Even a seemingly ‘mild’ complication can be devastating for a child who will likely have to live with that complication for decades to come since the prognosis for thyroid cancer is so good,” he said.

An important potential benefit of treatment at centers with multidisciplinary interest and expertise is facilitation of additional research, particularly in areas of uncertainty, including the proper use of ¹³¹I, the interpretation of thyroglobulin (Tg) and TgAb (antibody) levels, the role of prospective ultrasound monitoring in presymptomatic children at risk for thyroid neoplasia, the use of novel targeted therapies for advanced disease that fails to respond to ¹³¹I, and the long-term psychosocial impacts of the disease on children and their families, the guideline authors said.

“These areas require well-designed long-term, multicenter studies that will be difficult to perform because of the rarity of pediatric DTC and the prolonged follow-up required to reach meaningful endpoints. Further research should be facilitated by ensuring that children with DTC are treated when possible at centers with multidisciplinary interest and expertise in this disease,” they concluded.

The guidelines were funded by the American Thyroid Association and ThyCa: Thyroid Cancer Survivors’ Association. Dr. Francis reported serving as an adviser to ThyCa and receiving research support from Grifols, Novo Nordisk, and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. Other authors reported relationships (consulting, receiving research support, and/or serving as a speaker) with Akrimax, IBSA Institut Biochimique, Pfizer, Novo Nordisk, Eli Lilly, AstraZeneca, Bayer Healthcare, Genzyme, Sobi, Henning, and Merck, and ThyCa.