At present no European recommendations for the management of pediatric thyroid nodules and differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC) exist. Differences in clinical, molecular, and pathological characteristics between pediatric and adult DTC emphasize the need for specific recommendations for the pediatric population. An expert panel was instituted by the executive committee of the European Thyroid Association (ETA) including an international community of experts from a variety of disciplines including pediatric and adult endocrinology, pathology, endocrine surgery, nuclear medicine, clinical genetics, and oncology. The American Thyroid Association (ATA) pediatric guideline 2015 was used as framework for the present guideline. Areas of discordance were identified, and clinical questions were formulated. The expert panel members discussed the evidence and formulated recommendations based upon the latest evidence and expert opinion. Children with a thyroid nodule or DTC require expert care in an experienced center. The present guideline provides guidance for healthcare professionals to make well-considered decisions together with patients and parents regarding diagnostics, treatment and follow-up of pediatric thyroid nodules and DTC.

Background: PTEN hamartoma tumor syndrome (PHTS) represents a group of syndromes caused by a mutation in the PTEN gene. Children with a germline PTEN mutation have an increased risk of developing differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC). Several guidelines have focused on thyroid surveillance in these children, but studies substantiating these recommendations are lacking. Objective: The present study intends to provide the available evidence for a thyroid carcinoma surveillance program in children with PHTS. Methods: An extensive literature search was performed to identify all studies on DTC in pediatric PHTS patients. Two pediatric cases are presented to illustrate the pros and cons of thyroid carcinoma surveillance. Recommendations for other patient groups at risk for DTC were evaluated. Consensus within the study team on rec-This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND) (http://www.karger.com/Services/OpenAccessLicense). Usage and distribution for commercial purposes as well as any distribution of modified material requires written permission.

Background Currently, there are no European recommendations for the management of pediatric thyroid cancer. Other current international guidelines are not completely concordant. In addition, medical regulations differ between for instance the US and Europe. We aimed to develop new, easily accessible national recommendations for differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC) patients <18 years of age in the Netherlands as a first step towards a harmonized European Recommendation. Methods A multidisciplinary working group was formed including pediatric and adult endocrinologists, a pediatric radiologist, a pathologist, endocrine surgeons, pediatric surgeons, pediatric oncologists, nuclear medicine physicians, a clinical geneticist and a patient representative. A systematic literature search was conducted for all existing guidelines and review articles for pediatric DTC from 2000 until February 2019. The Appraisal of Guidelines, Research and Evaluation (AGREE) instrument was used for assessing quality of the articles. All were compared to determine dis- and concordances. The American Thyroid Association (ATA) pediatric guideline 2015 was used as framework to develop specific Dutch recommendations. Discussion points based upon expert opinion and current treatment management of DTC in children in the Netherlands were identified and elaborated. Results Based on the most recent evidence combined with expert opinion, a 2020 Dutch recommendation for pediatric DTC was written and published as an online interactive decision tree (www.oncoguide.nl). Conclusion Pediatric DTC requires a multidisciplinary approach. The 2020 Dutch Pediatric DTC Recommendation can be used as starting point for the development of a collaborative European recommendation for treatment of pediatric DTC.

Objective Childhood cancer survivors (CCS) are at increased risk to develop differentiated thyroid cancer predominantly after radiotherapy (subsequent DTC). It is insufficiently known whether subsequent DTC in CCS has a different presentation or outcome than sporadic DTC. Methods Patients with subsequent DTC (n = 31) were matched to patients with sporadic DTC (n = 93) on gender, age and year of diagnosis to compare presentation and DTC outcomes. Clinical data were collected retrospectively. Results Among the CCS with subsequent DTC, all but one had received chemotherapy for their childhood cancer, 19 (61.3%) had received radiotherapy including the thyroid region, 3 (9.7%) 131I-MIBG and 8 (25.8%) had received treatment with chemotherapy only. Subsequent DTC was detected by surveillance through neck palpation (46.2%), as a self-identified mass (34.6%), or by chance. Among sporadic DTC patients, self detection predominated (68.8%). CCS with subsequent DTC tended to have on average smaller tumors (1.9 vs 2.4 cm, respectively, (P = 0.051), and more often bilateral (5/25 (60.0%) vs 28/92 (30.4%), P = 0.024). There were no significant differences in the occurrence of surgical complications, recurrence rate or disease-related death. Conclusion When compared to patients with sporadic DTC, CCS with subsequent DTC seem to present with smaller tumors and more frequent bilateral tumors. Treatment outcome seems to be similar. The finding that one-third of subsequent DTC cases had been treated with chemotherapy only needs further investigation. These results are important for the development of surveillance programs for CCS at risk for DTC and for treatment guidelines of subsequent DTC.

Thyroid cancer is the most common endocrine malignancy in children. A rising incidence has been reported worldwide. Possible explanations include the increased use of enhanced imaging (leading to incidentalomas) and an increased prevalence of risk factors. We aimed to evaluate the incidence and survival trends of thyroid cancer in Dutch children, adolescents, and young adults (0–24 years) between 1990 and 2019. The age-standardized incidence rates of differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC, including papillary and follicular thyroid cancer (PTC and FTC, respectively)) and medullary thyroid cancer (MTC), the average annual percentage changes (AAPC) in incidence rates, and 10-year overall survival (OS) were calculated based on data obtained from the nationwide cancer registry (Netherlands Cancer Registry). A total of 839 patients aged 0–24 years had been diagnosed with thyroid carcinoma (PTC: 594 (71%), FTC: 128 (15%), MTC: 114 (14%)) between 1990 and 2019. The incidence of PTC increased significantly over time (AAPC +3.6%; 95%CI +2.3 to +4.8), the incidence rate of FTC showed a stable trend ((AAPC −1.1%; 95%CI −3.4 to +1.1), while the incidence of MTC decreased significantly (AAPC: −4.4% (95%CI −7.3 to −1.5). The 10-year OS was 99.5% (1990–1999) and 98.6% (2000–2009) in patients with DTC and 92.4% (1990–1999) and 96.0% (2000–2009) in patients with MTC. In this nationwide study, a rising incidence of PTC and decreasing incidence of MTC were observed. For both groups, in spite of the high proportion of patients with lymph node involvement at diagnosis for DTC and the limited treatment options for MTC, 10-year OS was high.

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The incidence of differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC) has increased rapidly over the past several years. Thus far, the only conclusively established risk factor for developing DTC is exposure to ionizing radiation, especially when the exposure occurs in childhood. Since the number of childhood cancer survivors (CCS) is increasing due to improvements in treatment and supportive care, the number of patients who will develop DTC after surviving childhood cancer (secondary thyroid cancer) also is expected to rise. Currently, there are no recommendations for management of thyroid cancer specifically for patients who develop DTC as a consequence of cancer therapy during childhood. Since complications or late effects from prior cancer treatment may elevate the risk of toxicity from DTC therapy, the medical history of CCS should be considered carefully in choosing DTC treatment. In this paper, we emphasize how the occurrence and treatment of the initial childhood malignancy affects the medical and psychosocial factors that will play a role in the diagnosis and treatment of a secondary DTC. We present considerations for clinicians to use in the management of patients with secondary DTC, based on the available evidence combined with experience-based opinions of the authors.

Objective Childhood brain tumor survivors (CBTS) are at risk to develop hypothalamic-pituitary (HP) dysfunction (HPD). The risk for HPD may vary between different age groups due to maturation of the brain and differences in oncologic treatment protocols. Specific studies on HPD in infant brain tumor survivors (infant-BTS, 0-1 years at diagnosis) or toddler brain tumor survivors (toddler-BTS, ≥1-3 years) have not been performed. Patients and Methods A retrospective nationwide cohort study in CBTS was performed. Prevalence and risk factors for HPD were compared between infant-, toddler- and older-BTS. Subgroup analysis was performed for all non-irradiated CBTS (n=460). Results In total 718 CBTS were included, with a median follow-up time of 7.9 years. Overall, despite less frequent use of radiotherapy (RT) in infants, no differences in prevalence of HPD were found between the three groups. RT (OR 16.44; 95%CI 8.93 to 30.27), suprasellar tumor location (OR 44.76; 95%CI 19.00 to 105.49) and younger age (OR 1.11; 95%CI 1.05 to 1.18) were associated with HP dysfunction. Infant-BTS and toddler-BTS showed more weight gain (p<0.0001) and smaller height SDS (p=0.001) during follow-up. In non-irradiated CBTS, infant-BTS and toddler-BTS were significantly more frequently diagnosed with TSH-, ACTH- and ADH deficiency, compared to older-BTS. Conclusion Infant and toddler brain tumor survivors seem to be more vulnerable to develop HP dysfunction than older children. These results emphasize the importance of special infant- and toddler brain tumor treatment protocols and the need for endocrine surveillance in children treated for a brain tumor at young age.