From 1936 to 1990, 89 children and adolescents (72 girls and 17 boys) were treated for differentiated thyroid carcinoma at the University of Michigan Medical Center; 58 of these patients were first reported in 1971. Thirty (34%) patients had previously received external irradiation to the head and neck, although only 1 (3%) patient of the last 33 patients seen had this history. Patients first presenting from 1971 to 1990 had less advanced disease than those seen earlier. Also, during this time period, the rate of initial palpable cervical adenopathy fell from 63% to 36%, local infiltration of primary cancer from 31% to 6%, and initial pulmonary metastases from 19% to 6%. The incidence of cervical nodal metastases has remained 88% for 54 years. Papillary or the follicular variant of papillary carcinoma was found in 93% of all patients. Seventy-nine (89%) patients had total or completion total thyroidectomy. Surgical management of lymphatic metastases varied from regional excision of nodes to radical neck dissection. The overall rate of permanent accidental recurrent laryngeal nerve palsy and hypoparathyroidism was 4.5%, although neither has occurred in a child or adolescent undergoing surgery at the center in the past 25 years. The most recent 33 patients had a low rate of local/regional persistence or recurrence. Cervical nodal persistence occurred in 21%; there were no thyroid recurrences. Eighty-two percent of patients received 131I. The long-term mortality rate was 2.2%. We continue to advocate total thyroidectomy, cervical lymph node dissection, and postoperative 131I therapy as the most conservative treatment regimen for children with differentiated thyroid carcinoma.

Studies have shown that the duodenum is a more common site (30--40%) of primary gastrinomas than previously reported. These tumors are often occult to conventional exploration, and their detection requires duodenotomy and meticulous evaluation of the mucosa by eversion and direct palpation. Furthermore, tumors as smaU as 1 to 2 mm may be associated with iymph node metastases. Seven patients with duodenal gastrinomas treated during a 2-year period are reported. Four had sporadic ZoUingerEllison syndrome (ZES), and three had multiple endocrine neoplasia type I (MEN-I) syndrome. Ail seven patients had malignant duodenal gastrinomas as proved by metastatic lymph nodes and in one case a large liver metastasis as well. Local excision of the tumor, iymph node excisions, and in one case liver Iobectomy resulted in eugastrinemia in the 4 with sporadic ZES. Two of the three with MEN-I were also eugastrinemic after similar procedures, with the addition of distal pancreatectomy. Duodenotomy is considered an essential procedure in sporadic ZES patients when no pancreatic tumor is found and in ail MEN-I/ZES patients, regardless of the pancreatic findings. Regional lymph node excisions are essential when a duodenal tumor has been found.At one time it was assumed that most patients with ZollingerEllison syndrome (ZES) had malignant pancreatic tumors with metastases that precluded a curative surgical resection. Therefore nearly ail patients were treated by total gastrectomy with the exception of a few with primary extrapancreatic tumors [1,2]. Once drugs became available that adequately controlled gastric acid hypersecretion, more emphasis was placed on identifying ZES patients who were potentially curable by tumor resection. Currently, it is estimated that up to 40% of patients with sporadic ZES have tumors that can be successfully resected [3]. These patients have primary tumors arising in the pancreas or duodenum with or without regional lymph node spread but no liver metastases. However, during the past decade, as many as 40% of patients proved biochemically to have ZES who have undergone exploration have had negative findings [4]. As a result, these patients were subsequently treated with drug therapy or had palliative surgical procedures such as selective vagotomy or even total gastrectomy. Furthermore, in most centers, multiple endocrine neoplasia type I (MEN-I)/ZES patients have been treated by drugs without exploration because of the assumption that, short of total pancreatectomy, their hypergastrinemia could not be controlled surgically [5]. Our experience during the last 10 years, during which time transhepatic selective venous sampling for gastrin (TSVS) was used to regionalize the source of gastrin secretion, convinced us that small duodenal tumors (microadenomas) could easily be overlooked during a standard exploration and thus be the cause of a failed procedure [4,6]. Recent studies have shown that the duodenum is a more common site of primary gastrinomas than previously thought [7][8][9][10][11]. It is currently ...

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Herein we report a 62-year-old woman with an excisable breast tumor in whom needle tract seeding was suspected during preoperative ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). A tumor of the right breast was observed during initial examination, and she was referred to our hospital after fine-needle aspiration cytology led to diagnosis of breast cancer, even though core needle biopsy results were negative. Mammography showed a high-density mass with a portion of the margin exhibiting very fine serrations. Ultrasonography revealed a circular mass with a border that was indistinct in some regions, and a hypoechoic band that extended from the tumor toward the skin. A mass was observed on MRI, with a linear enhancement extending on the skin side, and needle tract seeding was suspected. Fine-needle aspiration cytology revealed malignancy, and the histological appearance was consistent with mucinous carcinoma. T1cN0M0 stage I breast cancer was diagnosed, and wide excision and sentinel lymph node biopsy were performed. The skin directly above the tumor was concurrently excised to remove the biopsy puncture site. Histopathological diagnosis confirmed mucinous carcinoma, with the tumor observed to extend linearly into the subcutaneous adipose tissue in a pattern corresponding to the biopsy puncture site. The stump of the excised breast was negative for cancer cells. The possibility of tumor seeding must be considered during fine-needle aspiration cytology and biopsy. As demonstrated in this case, diagnosis of such seeding through preoperative imaging may enable extraction of the entire lesion, including the needle tract.