Had thyroid cancer with lymph node metastasis at the age of 12

Since last year, the female patient's neck has grown rapidly in size and become swollen, although she has no other symptoms such as fever or sore throat. The family subjectively thought that it was because the child had gained weight, so they did not go to the doctor.

In June, the family noticed that the baby had lost weight, had an abnormally large goiter, and had lymph nodes that moved up and down with each swallow, so they took the baby to a hospital in Ho Chi Minh City for examination and was diagnosed with thyroid cancer.

The family decided to take the child to Tam Anh General Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City for treatment. Specialist II Doctor Nguyen Duc Tuan, Head of the Department of Pediatric Surgery, said that the patient had an ultrasound, collected cell samples (FNA aspiration) with a specialized needle for testing, and the results determined that the patient had thyroid cancer that had metastasized to the lymph nodes on both sides of the neck.

Dr. Tuan collaborated with specialist II Doan Minh Trong, Department of Breast-Head and Neck Surgery and doctors from the Oncology and Endocrinology departments to develop a safe and optimal treatment regimen for the baby.

The surgical team removed the entire thyroid gland and removed the lymph nodes to eliminate cancer cells. During the surgery, the doctors carefully separated the nerves from the thyroid gland, avoiding affecting the voice and optimizing the incision to help shorten the scar and reduce the impact on the patient's appearance. The total duration of the surgery was about 4 hours.

After surgery, the patient recovered well, without hoarseness or complications such as numbness in the hands or shortness of breath. The patient continued to take radioactive iodine to prevent cancer recurrence.

Thyroid cancer is a rare disease in children. In Europe, the incidence is estimated at 1-2 cases per million children aged 10-14. In Vietnam, the Global Cancer Organization (GLOBOCAN) published statistics in 2024, recording the rate of thyroid cancer in 6th place. The disease is common in people aged 40-70, rarely seen in children, and is also found in the 15-19 age group.

According to Dr. Tuan, in children, especially during puberty, the body develops rapidly. In cases where children have thyroid cancer, the cancer cells will also develop faster than in adults.

Normally, in adults, it takes 6-12 months or even years for malignant thyroid cells to metastasize to the cervical lymph nodes. In children, this time is only 3-6 months. If not detected and treated promptly, the disease can metastasize to the supraclavicular lymph nodes, lungs, bones, brain, etc., making treatment difficult and affecting life expectancy.

Symptoms of thyroid cancer in children are often unclear, progress quickly and silently, causing many cases to be detected at the stage of lymph node metastasis. Therefore, parents should pay attention to regular health check-ups for children, especially during puberty to increase the chance of early detection and treatment.

Doctor Tuan further recommends that if parents notice that their child has a swollen neck area, or the lymph nodes move down when eating or swallowing, they should take the child to see a doctor immediately because the condition is in the stage of lymph node metastasis.

Over the past five years, the hospital has received and successfully treated three children with thyroid cancer, the youngest of which was an 8-year-old boy.

In the near future, Tam Anh General Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City plans to deploy a screening package for diseases for children, especially children in puberty, to help detect dangerous diseases early, typically thyroid cancer...

MANH TRAN

Source: https://nhandan.vn/mac-ung-thu-tuyen-giap-di-can-hach-khi-moi-12-tuoi-post895872.html