Thyroid nodules in the irradiated patient--an indication for total thyroidectomy

The surgical management of benign and malignant thyroid neoplasms in Marshall Islanders exposed to hydrogen bomb fallout

On March 1, 1954, a serious fallout accident occurred during the United States atomic testing program at Bikini in the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. Following the detonation of a large thermonuclear device (known as Bravo) an unexpected shift in winds resulted in deposition of radioactive debris on several inhabited atolls in the Marshall Islands. During the early post-detonation period military, sea, and air surveys traced the hottest portion of the parabolic cloud as it drifted in an ever widening pattern of diminishing concentration eastward and southeast of Bikini. The center of the cloud passed North of the Rongelap Atoll, which was the nearest inhabited atoll. This report concerns the development of thyroid lesions, the special circumstances encountered during thyroid surgery, and the results of the surgical management of benign and malignant lesions that were subsequently encountered in this population.

Morphologic changes in the thyroid after irradiation for Hodgkin's and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma

Four cases of thyroidectomy for suspected thyroid carcinoma after previous irradiation for Hodgkin's or non-Hodgkin's lymphoma are reviewed. The patients ranged in age from 18 to 33 years at the time of thyroid surgery with an average latency period of 12 years (range, 8-20 years) from radiation therapy to thyroidectomy. All patients had a clinically palpable thyroid nodule, and pathologically showed a pattern of multiple adenomatous nodules with cytologic atypia. The microscopic changes were sufficiently striking to cause the primary pathologist to request consultation to rule out thyroid carcinoma in each case. Fine-needle aspiration was performed in one case and suggested a thyroid neoplasm. The pathologic findings are reviewed and distinction of this lesion from thyroid carcinoma is discussed.

Multiple head and neck neoplasia following radiation for benign disease during childhood

A woman received radiation therapy to the adenoids for benign disease at the age of 10 years and subsequently developed an adenocarcinoma of the middle ear, a parathyroid adenoma, and a papillary carcinoma of the thyroid gland in adulthood. This appears to be the first such case on record. The literature of neoplasia after head and neck irradiation is briefly reviewed.