Introduction and objective:

Thyroid nodules in children are rare (2% of children have palpable thyroid nodules and 5% of children have thyroid nodules by ultrasonography). Most of these are benign and asymptomatic, but the percentage of nodules harboring cancer in children is higher than in adults: the rate of malignancy varies from 10 to 50% depending on published case series. For this reason, it is very important evaluating and monitoring the thyroid nodules in children.

Synthesis:

The thyroid gland in children is more susceptible to certain carcinogenic agents than the thyroid gland in adults. Thus, clinical following of the thyroid nodules in children is very important. The American Thyroid Association (ATA) recognized that size criterion for performing fine-needle aspiration (FNA) in adults may not be appropriate in a growing thyroid gland in children. For this reason, the ATA recommended that ultrasound characterization and clinical context should be used in the evaluation. Benign thyroid nodules must be monitored by periodic neck palpation and ultrasound examinations, so that if a significant increase in size is detected, it may lead to consider repeating FNA or performing a surgical excision.

Conclusions:

Clinical and ultrasonographic monitoring in thyroid nodule in children is very important due to its higher rate of malignancy than in adults.

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