Specific genomic alterations and aggressive clinical features of sporadic thyroid carcinomas in children and adolescents: findings from an in-house cohort study

Papillary thyroid carcinoma is the most common pathological subtype of thyroid cancer in both children/adolescents (TCCA) and adults (TCA). TCCA manifests more aggressive and invasive behaviors than TCA, which may be attributed to specific genomic alterations. To better understand the specific molecular, pathological and clinical manifestations of TCCA, we retrospectively analyzed a cohort of 60 patients with sporadic papillary thyroid carcinoma, including 20 TCCAs and 40 TCAs. Fine-needle aspiration tissue samples from these cases were analyzed using next-generation sequencing. Demographics, ultrasound features, postoperative pathology and radiation exposure history were compared between TCCAs and TCAs. To validate our findings, we integrated data from 28 prior studies, resulting in a larger cohort of 1,483 sporadic TCCAs.