Pediatric thyroid FNA biopsy: Outcomes and impact on management over 24 years at a tertiary care center

Background The American Thyroid Association guidelines task force currently recommends definitive thyroidectomy or lobectomy after an indeterminate thyroid biopsy in children. This recommendation is based on evidence of a greater incidence and a higher risk of malignancy compared with adults in earlier pediatric studies. Such management may lead to overtreatment and unnecessary surgery for many children in the United States. Methods The objective of the current study was to re‐evaluate pediatric thyroid nodules and assess the overall percentages and malignancy rates for indeterminate thyroid biopsies in children. In total, 302 pediatric thyroid fine‐needle aspirations (FNAs) were analyzed retrospectively (2001‐2018). Distribution percentages and malignancy rates were calculated for each category of The Bethesda System for Reporting Thyroid Cytopathology (TBSRTC). Results Two indeterminate TBSRTC groups (atypia of undetermined significance/follicular lesion of undetermined significance and follicular neoplasm/suspicious for a follicular neoplasm) had much lower distribution percentages and malignancy rates compared with earlier pediatric series and American Thyroid Association guidelines. A meta‐analysis further supported these findings and demonstrated distinctly different malignancy rates for the indeterminate groups (atypia of undetermined significance/follicular lesion of undetermined significance, follicular neoplasm/suspicious for a follicular neoplasm, and suspicious for malignancy), suggesting the need for TBSRTC category‐specific management recommendations rather than a nondiscriminatory, up‐front surgical approach. Conclusions Adult patients with indeterminate preoperative thyroid cytopathology are followed by repeat biopsy and possibly molecular testing before undergoing definitive surgery. However, in children, the guidelines are considerably more aggressive and recommend definitive surgery after the first indeterminate thyroid biopsy. Here, the largest pediatric cohort to date with meta‐analysis is presented, and the authors propose a re‐evaluation of this up‐front approach to pediatric thyroid care.

Section: Resultscontrasting

confidence: 82%

Section: Resultscontrasting

confidence: 51%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Incidence and malignancy rates of indeterminate pediatric thyroid nodules

Wang

Mehrad

Ely

et al. 2019

The role of thyroid FNA cytology in pediatric malignant lesions: An overview of the literature

Rossi

Martini

Cenci

et al. 2017

When one is dealing with pediatric thyroid lesions, fine-needle aspiration is the first diagnostic tool for the correct characterization of these nodules. Despite the apparent infrequency of thyroid cancers in children, recent data from the National Cancer Institute prove that the incidence has been increasing, especially in adolescents. With the same data, a higher prevalence of well-differentiated cancers can be estimated, with 90% diagnosed as papillary thyroid cancer. Nonetheless, some publications have demonstrated that some specific malignant variants are more frequent in children and have a more aggressive behavior that justifies the increased number of surgical procedures. For this reason, the American Thyroid Association recommends the performance of neck ultrasonography and fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) for the evaluation of pediatric thyroid nodules. Accordingly, as reported in adult thyroid series, several authors have documented the high sensitivity and diagnostic accuracy of FNAC in pediatric series; they have also shared the same problematic issues encountered in adult populations, mostly in the diagnosis of indeterminate lesions. To provide precise clinical and/or surgical management, the correct cytological identification of specific malignant histotypes/entities should be mandatory because lymph nodes, distant metastases, and extrathyroidal infiltration are more frequent within specific histotypes. A perusal of the literature shows that their identification has not been extensively studied and investigated in cytological samples. This review focuses on the analysis of data from the literature on the evaluation of malignancies and specific morphological features in pediatric thyroid lesions. Cancer Cytopathol 2017;125:594-603. © 2017 American Cancer Society.

Noninvasive follicular thyroid neoplasm with papillary‐like nuclear features in the pediatric age group

Rossi

Mehrotra

Kılıç

et al. 2017

BACKGROUND:The most common malignant thyroid neoplasm in children is papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC). In 2015, the Endocrine Pathology Society introduced the terminology "noninvasive follicular thyroid neoplasm with papillary-like nuclear features" (NIFTP) to replace the noninvasive follicular variant of PTC. The objective of the current study was to evaluate previously diagnosed PTC in the pediatric population, reappraise it for NIFTP, and discuss the impact of NIFTP on the risk of malignancy (ROM) for each The Bethesda System for Reporting Thyroid Cytopathology category in the pediatric population. METHODS: The electronic databases of both study institutions were searched for all thyroidectomy specimens in patients aged <19 years from June 1, 2001 through June 1, 2016. The patient's age, sex, diagnosis, previous fine-needle aspiration cytology diagnosis, and follow-up were tabulated. Slides for available cases were reviewed and cases qualifying as NIFTP were separated. RESULTS: The cohort included 101 resected nodules; cytological diagnoses were available for 95 cases. These cases included diagnoses of nondiagnostic (5 cases; 5.2%), benign (21 cases; 22.1%), atypia/follicular lesion of undetermined significance (9 cases; 9.5%), follicular neoplasm/suspicious for follicular neoplasm (FN/SFN) (25 cases; 26.3%), suspicious for malignancy (7 cases; 7.4%), and malignant (28 cases; 29.5%). On the histological follow-up, 50 cases (49.5%) were benign, 49 cases (48.5%) were malignant, and 2 cases (1.9%) were NIFTP. These NIFTP cases originally were diagnosed as FNs on fine-needle aspiration cytology. The average ROM for FNs with and without NIFTPs was 28% and 25%, respectively CONCLUSIONS: According to our rate of 1.9% for NIFTPs on reappraisal for resected nodules, this entity is likely to be less frequent in the pediatric population due to the higher prevalence of PTCs and/or more aggressive variants. NIFTPs do not appear to affect the ROM for The Bethesda System for Reporting Thyroid Cytopathology categories in the pediatric population. However, large-scale studies are necessary to determine whether NIFTPs could affect the pediatric population.