Thyroid adenomas and carcinomas following radiotherapy for a hemangioma during infancy

A cohort study was performed to investigate the carcinogenic effect of treating skin hemangioma with ionizing radiation during early childhood. This paper presents the incidence of differentiated thyroid adenomas and carcinomas after radiotherapy in this cohort. This study confirms that radiation treatment performed in the past for hemangioma during infancy increased the risk of thyroid carcinoma and adenoma. Patients treated with external radiotherapy or with Radium 226 applicators for hemangiomas have to be more specifically followed up because this is the subgroup in whom the highest doses were received by the thyroid gland (more than 90% of the radiation doses were higher than 100 mGy). They are therefore more at risk of developing thyroid cancer