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We present six cases of epithelioid angiosarcomas (EAS) of the thyroid gland without distant metastases at diagnosis and with a long follow-up. We retrieved the six consecutive cases of thyroid EAS between 2005 and 2011. Gender was equally represented; median age was 60 years (range 53-68). One case was post-irradiation and another post-exposure to vinyl chloride. Median diameter was 6 cm (range 5-13). Regional nodal metastases were present at onset in two cases. All the cases expressed CD31 in a membranous pattern. CD34 was always negative. All the patients underwent complete surgical resection. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy was applied in one case and adjuvant chemotherapy in four cases with adjuvant radiation therapy in one case. Follow-up until June 2015 was available in five cases. Median follow-up was 59 months (range 9-82). Three patients relapsed. Two patients (the post-irradiation and post vinyl chloride exposure cases) died of disease after 36 and 9 months, after a local relapse soon followed by distant metastases. Three patients are alive and well after 59, 70, and 82 months, including a patient with a relapse treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy and surgery. In conclusion, thyroid EAS without distant metastases at diagnosis are very rare tumors. They all expressed CD31, while CD34 was always negative. Distant metastases developed together with local relapse, rapidly followed by death. Inadequate surgery contributed to poor outcome. Cases with previous exposure to irradiation and vinyl chloride showed a particularly poor behavior.

With improvements in the survival rates after childhood cancer, many clinicians have turned their attention to reporting on late effects, and how they might be prevented or treated. In childhood the thyroid gland is especially vulnerable to the carcinogenic action of ionizing radiation. This retrospective study focused on secondary thyroid cancers seen at our institution over more than 30 years (between 1980 and 2012) in patients treated for other malignancies in pediatric age. 36 patients were identified. In most cases, the primary cancer had been Hodgkin disease, and all the patients had been administered radiotherapy for their first malignancy. The secondary thyroid cancers were treated with total thyroidectomy in 27 cases (six with lymphadenectomy), and hemithyroidectomy in nine (one with lymphadenectomy). 12 Patients were also given radiometabolic therapy. All but two had TSH suppression therapy. The histological diagnoses were: 31 papillary and five follicular carcinomas. At 5 and 10 years, the OS was 100 and 95 %, respectively, and the PFS was 96 and 83 %. None of the patients died of their thyroid disease. Nodal involvement at onset was the only factor correlating with recurrence. Surgical sequelae only occurred in patients who underwent total thyroidectomy. Survival in these patients did not depend on the extent of surgery on the thyroid parenchyma. Our data confirm a good prognosis for secondary thyroid cancer, prompting us to encourage a minimalist approach to the treatment of these particular patients wherever possible.