Thyroidectomy in children and adolescents: distinguishing benign from malignant thyroid nodules

Objectives: The research aimed to analyze the clinical, epidemiological, laboratory, imaging, and pathological characteristics of pediatric patients who underwent surgery for thyroid nodules, distinguishing and comparing malignant and benign conditions. Methodology: A retrospective and descriptive a...

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Main Authors: Mário Sérgio Rocha Macedo, Jônatas Catunda de Freitas, Débora Cabral Coutinho, Carina Marques Barroso, Sandra Regina Geroldo, Rhuce Pedrosa Carvalho, Letícia Siqueira Monte Alverne, Tamyres Ferreira Campos, Lívia Rolim Fernades Macedo, José Huygens Parente Garcia, Wellington Alves Filho
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-09-01
Series:Jornal de Pediatria
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0021755725001160
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author Mário Sérgio Rocha Macedo
Jônatas Catunda de Freitas
Débora Cabral Coutinho
Carina Marques Barroso
Sandra Regina Geroldo
Rhuce Pedrosa Carvalho
Letícia Siqueira Monte Alverne
Tamyres Ferreira Campos
Lívia Rolim Fernades Macedo
José Huygens Parente Garcia
Wellington Alves Filho
author_facet Mário Sérgio Rocha Macedo
Jônatas Catunda de Freitas
Débora Cabral Coutinho
Carina Marques Barroso
Sandra Regina Geroldo
Rhuce Pedrosa Carvalho
Letícia Siqueira Monte Alverne
Tamyres Ferreira Campos
Lívia Rolim Fernades Macedo
José Huygens Parente Garcia
Wellington Alves Filho
author_sort Mário Sérgio Rocha Macedo
collection DOAJ
description Objectives: The research aimed to analyze the clinical, epidemiological, laboratory, imaging, and pathological characteristics of pediatric patients who underwent surgery for thyroid nodules, distinguishing and comparing malignant and benign conditions. Methodology: A retrospective and descriptive analysis was conducted on patients aged 0–18 years who underwent thyroidectomy. The following variables were evaluated: gender, previous and current pathological history, laboratory thyroid hormone levels, ultrasonography, cytology, and histopathological findings. Results: A total of 91 children underwent thyroidectomy from January 2013 to May 2023. The average age was 13 years, and 68 patients were female. Ultrasonography evaluation revealed that 62 children had unimodular disease. Histopathology reports showed benign tumors in 54 patients and malignant tumors in 37. The factors associated with a higher incidence of cancer in univariate analysis were age < 10 years (p = 0.025), the presence of nodules on ultrasound with microcalcification (p < 0.001), and hypoechogenic nodules (p = 0.007). On multivariate analysis, only age under 10 years (OR = 5.69; p = 0.028) and the presence of microcalcifications (OR = 28.44 and p = 0.002) were significantly associated with malignancy. Conclusion: The medical community is becoming increasingly aware of the differences in the clinical, epidemiological, pathological, and molecular presentations of benign and malignant thyroid diseases, highlighting the need for further training in this area.
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series Jornal de Pediatria
spelling doaj-art-9e1ed0c47c464019a6815d84609e03e92025-08-23T04:47:20ZengElsevierJornal de Pediatria0021-75572025-09-01101510142610.1016/j.jped.2025.101426Thyroidectomy in children and adolescents: distinguishing benign from malignant thyroid nodulesMário Sérgio Rocha Macedo0Jônatas Catunda de Freitas1Débora Cabral Coutinho2Carina Marques Barroso3Sandra Regina Geroldo4Rhuce Pedrosa Carvalho5Letícia Siqueira Monte Alverne6Tamyres Ferreira Campos7Lívia Rolim Fernades Macedo8José Huygens Parente Garcia9Wellington Alves Filho10Hospital Infantil Albert Sabin, Fortaleza, CE, Brazil; Universidade Federal do Ceará, Departamento de Cirurgia, Fortaleza, CE, Brazil; Corresponding author.Unicristhus, Fortaleza, CE, BrazilHospital Infantil Albert Sabin, Fortaleza, CE, BrazilHospital Infantil Albert Sabin, Fortaleza, CE, BrazilHospital Infantil Albert Sabin, Fortaleza, CE, BrazilHospital Infantil Albert Sabin, Fortaleza, CE, BrazilUnicristhus, Fortaleza, CE, BrazilUnicristhus, Fortaleza, CE, BrazilUnicristhus, Fortaleza, CE, BrazilUniversidade Federal do Ceará, Departamento de Cirurgia, Fortaleza, CE, BrazilUniversidade Federal do Ceará, Departamento de Cirurgia, Fortaleza, CE, BrazilObjectives: The research aimed to analyze the clinical, epidemiological, laboratory, imaging, and pathological characteristics of pediatric patients who underwent surgery for thyroid nodules, distinguishing and comparing malignant and benign conditions. Methodology: A retrospective and descriptive analysis was conducted on patients aged 0–18 years who underwent thyroidectomy. The following variables were evaluated: gender, previous and current pathological history, laboratory thyroid hormone levels, ultrasonography, cytology, and histopathological findings. Results: A total of 91 children underwent thyroidectomy from January 2013 to May 2023. The average age was 13 years, and 68 patients were female. Ultrasonography evaluation revealed that 62 children had unimodular disease. Histopathology reports showed benign tumors in 54 patients and malignant tumors in 37. The factors associated with a higher incidence of cancer in univariate analysis were age < 10 years (p = 0.025), the presence of nodules on ultrasound with microcalcification (p < 0.001), and hypoechogenic nodules (p = 0.007). On multivariate analysis, only age under 10 years (OR = 5.69; p = 0.028) and the presence of microcalcifications (OR = 28.44 and p = 0.002) were significantly associated with malignancy. Conclusion: The medical community is becoming increasingly aware of the differences in the clinical, epidemiological, pathological, and molecular presentations of benign and malignant thyroid diseases, highlighting the need for further training in this area.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0021755725001160ThyroidectomyChildrenNodule
spellingShingle Mário Sérgio Rocha Macedo
Jônatas Catunda de Freitas
Débora Cabral Coutinho
Carina Marques Barroso
Sandra Regina Geroldo
Rhuce Pedrosa Carvalho
Letícia Siqueira Monte Alverne
Tamyres Ferreira Campos
Lívia Rolim Fernades Macedo
José Huygens Parente Garcia
Wellington Alves Filho
Thyroidectomy in children and adolescents: distinguishing benign from malignant thyroid nodules
Jornal de Pediatria
Thyroidectomy
Children
Nodule
title Thyroidectomy in children and adolescents: distinguishing benign from malignant thyroid nodules
title_full Thyroidectomy in children and adolescents: distinguishing benign from malignant thyroid nodules
title_fullStr Thyroidectomy in children and adolescents: distinguishing benign from malignant thyroid nodules
title_full_unstemmed Thyroidectomy in children and adolescents: distinguishing benign from malignant thyroid nodules
title_short Thyroidectomy in children and adolescents: distinguishing benign from malignant thyroid nodules
title_sort thyroidectomy in children and adolescents distinguishing benign from malignant thyroid nodules
topic Thyroidectomy
Children
Nodule
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0021755725001160
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