PEDIATRIC THYROID-CARCINOMA IN THE MILITARY POPULATION

A 30-year review of the Armed Forces Tumor Registry revealed that of 3 ,126 thyroid cancers on file, 82 were in the pediatric population, All of these cases were reviewed, and the mean age was found to be 13.8 y ears, There was a male-to-female ratio of 1:2.3, At the time of diagno sis, 33% had regional nodes and 6% had distant metastasis, The maligna ncies were 60% papillary, 13% follicular, 10% papillary-follicular var iant, and 6% medullary, Treatment included 41% lobectomies with or wit hout isthmectomy, 27% total thyroidectomies with or without node sampl ing, 20% total thyroidectomies with neck dissections, and 12% surgical treatment not otherwise specified. Of the surgical patients, 30% rece ived postoperative I-131 ablation, An average patient follow-up of 8.6 years showed that 65 remained disease-free, 5 had disease, 1 was dead of disease, and 10 were unknown, The results of our pediatric thyroid carcinoma review are compared with previously published figures.