Papillary Thyroid Cancer in Adolescents and Young Adults: Insights from Qatar

A Qatar tertiary center study describes adolescent and young adult (AYA) papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) characterized by predominant classic histology and a mean tumor size of 2.19 cm.

In this single-center observational cohort of 326 AYA patients, the study reports classic histology in approximately 83% of cases and a mean tumor size of 2.19 cm. Capsule invasion was observed in 21.0% and vascular invasion in 11.8%; distant metastases were uncommon.

Males presented with larger tumors (mean 2.65 cm vs 2.01 cm), higher rates of vascular invasion (22.4% vs 7.7%), and a greater proportion classified as ATA high-risk, while the majority were ATA low-risk (68.6%).

Operative patterns favored total thyroidectomy: approximately 77.6% underwent total resection, and 59.1% received radioactive iodine (RAI). Histologic subtype, tumor size, and ATA risk guided adjuvant decisions without overstating comparative outcomes.

Key Takeaways:

• Classic PTC predominates in this AYA cohort with mean tumor size 2.19 cm, favoring surgical strategies that account for lesion size and histology.
• Male patients demonstrate more aggressive features (larger tumors, higher vascular invasion, greater ATA high-risk proportion), supporting sex-informed risk stratification and follow-up intensity.
• Total thyroidectomy is the predominant operative approach locally; adjuvant RAI was used selectively.