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The Thyroid Gland

  • Chapter
Survivors of Childhood and Adolescent Cancer

Part of the book series: Pediatric Oncology ((PEDIATRICO))

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Abstract

Thyroid dysfunction or deregulation is a clinically significant sequelae of cancer therapy due to the spectrum of physiologic consequences; subsequent thyroid neoplasia is uncommon but potentially serious and raises issues of surveillance strategies. The thyroid gland may be intentionally or incidentally exposed to therapeutic radiation dose in the treatment of many malignancies, such as with prophylactic or therapeutic irradiation of the cervical lymphatics in the treatment of Hodgkin lymphoma and non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Primary hypo- or hyperthyroidism may result from this thyroid gland radiation exposure. Cranio-spinal axis irradiation, as used for some central nervous system (CNS) tumors, may also cause hypo- or hyperthyroidism due to thyroid gland exposure and/or radiation exposure to the hypothalamic-pituitary axis. Additionally, the increased rates of development of both benign nodules and malignant thyroid tumors are a well-documented late effect after cancer therapy. This chapter will focus on the late effects of radiation exposure to the thyroid gland, resulting in increased risks of hyperthyroidism, hypothyroidism, thyroiditis, benign nodule formation, and malignancy [1–3].

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Rochester, 601 Elmwood Ave., 647, Rochester, NY, 14642, USA

    Michael T. Milano & Sughosh Dhakal

  2. Departments of Radiation Oncology and Pediatrics, University of Rochester, 601 Elmwood Ave., 647, Rochester, NY, 14642, USA

    Louis S. Constine

  3. The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 1515 Holcombe Blvd, Houston, TX, 77030, USA

    Cindy L. Schwartz

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  1. Michael T. Milano
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  2. Sughosh Dhakal
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  3. Cindy L. Schwartz
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  4. Louis S. Constine
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Correspondence to Michael T. Milano .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pediatrics, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, USA

    Cindy L. Schwartz

  2. Division of Oncology, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

    Wendy L. Hobbie

  3. Departments of Radiation Oncology and Pediatrics, University of Rochester Medical Center, James P. Wilmot Cancer Ctr, Rochester, New York, USA

    Louis S. Constine

  4. Center for Cancer And Blood Diseases, Children's Hospital Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA

    Kathleen S. Ruccione

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Milano, M.T., Dhakal, S., Schwartz, C.L., Constine, L.S. (2015). The Thyroid Gland. In: Schwartz, C., Hobbie, W., Constine, L., Ruccione, K. (eds) Survivors of Childhood and Adolescent Cancer. Pediatric Oncology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16435-9_9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16435-9_9

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