When evaluating nodes in the thyroid specialists separated children into two groups: prepubertal and post-pubertal. The first group includes those who have not started puberty, the second - those with whom he is already underway. This division is not absolute, but it allows you to make some distinctions. Patients from both groups generally healthy, and often the only deviation from the norm in their condition is a node in the thyroid gland and often - increase in cervical lymph nodes.

Due to the lack of specific symptoms, patients rarely go to the doctor because of the appearance of the thyroid gland nodes - they are usually detected during a routine medical examination. In prepubertal children have thyroid cancer and benign nodes in the thyroid gland are rare. In addition, young patients with thyroid cancer are quite a few cases where the cancer is associated with a genetic predisposition to the disease. Adolescents (post-pubertal children) diseases such as hypothyroidism (decreased activity of the thyroid gland), hyperthyroidism (overactive thyroid), thyroid nodules, and her cancer are more common. The girls he develops more often than boys (among adult women, thyroid cancer is also more common than among men).

During puberty in children at an early age in the past within the radiotherapy treatment of various cancers may begin to develop thyroid disease Thyroid disease: the variety of diagnoses sad Including - carcinoma. The thyroid gland is particularly sensitive to radiation, and the younger the patient was during the passage of radiation therapy, the faster can start to develop thyroid disease. Exposure to radiation forty times increases the likelihood of hypothyroidism Hypothyroidism , The nodes in the thyroid gland or thyroid cancer. Typically, this occurs in a period from five to thirty years after the end of radiotherapy.

Why do children get cancer of the thyroid gland

As already mentioned, in children exposed to radiation, there is an increased risk of thyroid cancer, which is associated with the peculiarities of the cells of the body.

Before 1980, many children were exposed to radiation therapy in the treatment of various diseases, including ringworm of the scalp, acne, increased thymus (thymus) and other violations. Although far from this practice declined and radiation therapy is used only for the treatment of life-threatening diseases in people who have been a child this treatment, there is still a high risk of developing thyroid cancer.

In addition, experts believe that exposure to low doses of radiation are more likely to lead to the development of thyroid diseases than large doses. The reason for this is that high radiation doses are usually killed cells, while only small amounts of cellular DNA damage. Such damage (DNA mutations) increases the risk of abnormal cell growth, whereby a node may develop or thyroid cancer.

Children who were radiotherapy for the treatment of other cancers, e.g., leukemia, brain cancer, or lymphoma, thyroid could still be exposed to the radiation. Dose only 50 Glad may cause damage, sufficient to increase the risk of the formation of nodes in the thyroid gland, as well as cancer. The highest risk in those patients who received doses ranging from 200 to 2000 Glad being under the age of ten years.

In general, thyroid cancer may develop in 10% of patients who were in childhood radiotherapy for the treatment of various cancers. In most cases, the cancer begins to grow fifteen years after the end of radiotherapy. However, there are cases where this happened five and thirty years. It is unknown why ionizing radiation to the thyroid of children is more devastating than for adults.

The environment can also be sources of ionizing radiation. An extreme example is the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in April 1986. Five years after the accident among children increased incidence of thyroid cancer. Due to the fact that thyroid cancer develops slowly, to fully understand the consequences of the accident it became possible only a decade later.

What can be done

To prevent the development of cancer, or at least reduce the likelihood of exposure to radiation when possible, if you give a child enough iodine. Ideally, it should receive iodine from food, but when necessary, taking vitamins Vitamins for everyone .

In the event that the imminent increase in the level of radiation is known in advance, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that adults take 0.1 grams of iodine a day for children older than three years - 0.05 g per day, and children up to three years - 0,025 grams per day. Iodine intake in the indicated doses should continue as long as the food and the water will not be completely free of radiation.

The tendency to the development of some forms of cancer of the thyroid gland is transmitted at the genetic level. In families where there is a likelihood of transmission of the corresponding genes, children should be regularly inspected and follow the doctor's recommendations, which will help as much as possible, to reduce the risk of cancer of the thyroid gland.

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