Ultrasound-Histopathological Presentation of Thyroid and Ovary Lesions in Adolescent Patients with DICER1 Syndrome: Case Reports and Literature Overview

Background: DICER1, a cancer predisposition syndrome (CPS), seems to escape timely diagnosis in pediatric patients. Case report 1: A 16-year-old female patient was referred to the endocrinology ward due to a large goiter. Her medical history indicated normal sexual maturation, with menarche occurrin...

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Main Authors: Dominika Januś (Author), Monika Kujdowicz (Author), Konrad Kaleta (Author), Kamil Możdżeń (Author), Jan Radliński (Author), Anna Taczanowska-Niemczuk (Author), Aleksandra Kiszka-Wiłkojć (Author), Marcin Maślanka (Author), Wojciech Górecki (Author), Jerzy B. Starzyk (Author)
Format: Book
Published: MDPI AG, 2024-03-01T00:00:00Z.
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Summary:Background: DICER1, a cancer predisposition syndrome (CPS), seems to escape timely diagnosis in pediatric patients. Case report 1: A 16-year-old female patient was referred to the endocrinology ward due to a large goiter. Her medical history indicated normal sexual maturation, with menarche occurring at 13.5 years. Over the past 2.5 years, she had developed pronounced androgenic symptoms, including a deepened male voice; facial, back, and neckline acne; hirsutism; and menstrual irregularities leading to secondary amenorrhea. A thyroid ultrasound identified a multinodular goiter (MNG) with cystic-solid lesions containing calcifications. An abdominal ultrasound identified a 5.7 × 6.9 cm solid mass in the right adnexal region, displacing the uterus to the left. Histopathological examination confirmed a Sertoli-Leydig cell tumor. The patient was subjected to a total thyroidectomy. Histopathology revealed benign follicular cell-derived neoplasms. Thyroid follicular nodular disease (TFND) was diagnosed bilaterally. DNA analysis using NGS, confirmed via the Sanger method, revealed a pathogenic heterozygotic variant c.2953C>T [p.Gln985*] in exon 18 of the <i>DICER1</i> gene. Case report 2: A 12-year-old male patient was admitted to the pediatric surgery unit due to a 33 mL goiter. A month prior to his admission, the patient discovered a palpable nodule in his neck, accompanied by hoarseness. An ultrasound revealed MNG. Molecular analysis revealed a pathogenic heterozygotic variant c.2782C>T [p.Gln928*] in exon 17 of the <i>DICER1</i> gene. Subsequently, a total thyroidectomy was performed, and histopathological examination revealed TFND bilaterally. Conclusions: Recent advances in genetic evaluation and in histological approaches indicate that MNG/TFND, although rare in the pediatric population, when accompanied by characteristic ultrasound and histopathological features, and by additional features such as androgenization, may warrant assessment also of the <i>DICER1</i> gene within CPS molecular panel screening.
Item Description:10.3390/children11040403
2227-9067