The authors report the occurrence of papillary carcinoma of the thyroid in nine first-degree relatives of four families among a consecutive series of 97 patients with papillary carcinoma of the thyroid who were operated on from 1991 to 1998. Total thyroidectomy was performed in all cases. All patients are alive without evidence of disease after a mean follow-up period of 43 months. Since in our series familial papillary carcinoma of the thyroid was found in 9.3% of patients, we suggest an adequate screening among first-degree relatives of all patients with papillary thyroid carcinoma. Because of reported aggressive behaviour of familial papillary carcinoma of the thyroid, aggressive surgical treatment plus post-operative thyroid remnant ablation with radio-iodine should be warranted in all patients.
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