Thyroid cancer following radiotherapy for hodgkin's disease: A case report and review of the literature

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Abstract
Improved survival resulting from advances in therapy in patients with Hodgkin's disease is associated with long‐term morbidity, including the potential for the development of a second solid malignancy. We report a 44‐year‐old man with an unusually aggressive course of thyroid carcinoma 15 years after treatment for Hodgkin's disease. In a review of the English‐language literature, we found 21 cases of thyroid cancer following radiotherapy for Hodgkin's disease, with latency periods ranging from 6 to 48 years. The development of secondary thyroid cancer after high‐dose neck irradiation may be related to hypothyroidism, itself a complication of radiotherapy. Thyroid function should be measured at least once a year in all patients given neck irradiation, with initiation of thyroid hormone replacement if there is evidence of sustained hypothyroidism.