Abstract
Pediatric thyroid carcinomas are rare, and associated with distinct clinical features and histological variations. Papillary carcinoma accounts for the majority of thyroid cancers in children and adolescents, and is sub-classified into the classic type, solid-follicular variant and diffuse sclerosing variant. Extrathyroidal extension and/or distant metastasis are relatively common, however, the postoperative prognoses are extremely good. In this review, we shall discuss the clinical features of papillary thyroid carcinomas of childhood, and the histopathological characteristics and genetic abnormalities associated with these cancers. A better understanding of the characteristics of childhood papillary thyroid carcinomas would aid in preoperative cytological diagnosis of thyroid nodules in children and adolescents.
