The demographic and clinical features of the cases identified in our literature review are shown in Table 2.
Table 2
Review of case reports and case series reporting children with consumptive hypothyroidism due to infantile hepatic hemangioma (2000–2023).
CASE N. | AUTHOR, YEAR | Sex | Age at diagnosis (months) | Outco me | TSH at diagnos is (mU/L) | IHH Therapy | LT4 therapy | LT4 max dosage (mcg/kg/ die) * | Liothyron ine therapy |
1 | Huang, 2000 (11) | M | 1.5 | Dead | 177 | St–Int-Sur | Yes | 7.6 | Yes |
2 | Mason, 2001 (23) | M | 1.75 | Alive | 203 | St-Int-Sur | Yes | 7 | Yes |
3 | Ayling, 2001 (24) | F | 2 | Dead | 103 | Tr | Yes | ° | No |
4 | Ayling, 2001 (24) | M | 0.3 | Alive | 35 | Tr | Yes | ° | No |
5 | Ayling, 2001 (24) | M | 1.25 | Alive | 200 | Sur | Yes | ° | No |
6 | Ayling, 2001 (24) | F | 4 | Alive | 475 | Sur | Yes | ° | No |
7 | Ayling, 2001 (24) | F | 4 | Alive | 16 | Sur | ° | ° | ° |
8 | Ayling, 2001 (24) | F | 4 | Alive | ° | Sur | ° | ° | ° |
9 | Ayling, 2001 (24) | M | 5 | Alive | 40 | Sur | ° | ° | ° |
10 | Ayling, 2001 (24) | M | 0.5 | Dead | ° | Sur | ° | ° | ° |
11 | Konrad, 2003 (25) | M | 2 | Alive | 100 | Pr | Yes | 28 | No |
12 | Güven, 2005 (26) | F | 0 | Alive | 100 | St | Yes | 19.8 | Yes |
13 | Ho, 2005 (27) | F | 2.5 | Alive | 90 | St | Yes | ° | Yes |
14 | Lee, 2006 (28) | F | 1.5 | Alive | 182 | St-Vin-Int- Cyc-Tr | Yes | 15 | No |
15 | Balazs, 2007 (29) | F | 1.5 | Alive | 182 | St–Int–Tr | Yes | 75 | Yes |
16 | Kalpatthi, 2007 (30) | M | 4 | Alive | 53.3 | St | Yes | ° | No |
17 | Cho, 2008 (31) | M | 7 | Alive | 18.98 | St–Vin | Yes | 5.4 | No |
18 | Mouat, 2008 (32) | F | 0.75 | Alive | 17 | St | Yes | 25 | No |
19 | Çetinkaya, 2010 (33) | M | 0 | Alive | 150 | St – Int | Yes | 22 | Yes |
20 | Peters, 2010 (34) | M | 1 | Alive | 66.2 | St – Vin | Yes | 20 | Yes |
21 | Bessho, 2010 (35) | F | 0 | Alive | 45.2 | St – Int – Sur | Yes | 7.5 | No |
22 | Mazereeuw-Hautier, 2010 (15) | ° | ° | Alive | ° | Pr | ° | ° | No |
23 | Mazereeuw-Hautier, 2010 (15) | ° | ° | Alive | ° | Pr – St – Vin | ° | ° | No |
24 | Mazereeuw-Hautier, 2010 (15) | ° | ° | Alive | ° | Pr – St | ° | ° | No |
25 | Marsciani, 2010 (16) | F | 2 | Alive | 33.8 | Pr – St – Vin - Cyc | Yes | 1 | No |
26 | Jassam, 2011 (36) | M | 2 | Dead | 138 | St – Int – Sur | Yes | 10 | No |
27 | Yeh, 2011 (37) | F | 1.5 | Alive | 68 | St – Vin | Yes | ° | Yes |
28 | Yeh, 2011 (37) | M | 1 | Alive | 19.8 | St – Vin | No | - | No |
29 | Yeh, 2011 (37) | M | 1 | Alive | 31.4 | Pr – St | Yes | ° | No |
30 | Yeh, 2011 (37) | F | 0.5 | Alive | 55.8 | Pr – St – Vin | Yes | ° | Yes |
31 | Imteyaz, 2011 (38) | F | 4 | Alive | 14.2 | St | Yes | ° | Yes |
32 | Mhanna, 2011 (39) | F | 1.5 | Alive | 9.47 | Pr | Yes | ° | No |
33 | Mhanna, 2011(39) | M | 3 | Alive | ° | Pr | Yes | ° | No |
34 | Vergine, 2012 (17) | F | 2 | Alive | 40 | Pr – St – Vin | Yes | 2 | No |
35 | Avagyan, 2013 (40) | F | 0.5 | Alive | 65.1 | Pr | Yes | 30 | No |
36 | Wijeratne, 2014 (41) | M | 1.5 | Alive | 37.7 | Pr – St | Yes | 16 | No |
37 | Sun, 2014 (42) | F | 0.5 | Dead | ° | St | Yes | ° | No |
38 | Wasserman, 2015 (43) | F | 2 | Alive | 123 | Pr – St – Vin | Yes | 21 | Yes |
39 | Emir, 2016 (44) | F | 0.5 | Dead | 74.2 | Pr – St | Yes | 18.5 | No |
40 | Özdemir, 2017 (45) | M | 4 | Alive | 177 | Pr – St | Yes | ° | No |
41 | Takai, 2017 (46) | M | 0.25 | Alive | 54.7 | Pr – St | Yes | ° | No |
42 | Weber Pasa, 2017 (47) | F | 0 | Alive | 24 | Vin | Yes | 110 | Yes |
43 | Al Tasseh, 2017 (48) | M | 3.5 | Alive | 220 | Pr | Yes | 25 | No |
44 | Nguyen, 2017 (49) | M | 2 | Alive | 54 | Pr | No | - | No |
45 | Higuchi, 2017 (50) | M | 2 | Alive | 17.7 | Pr | No | - | Yes |
46 | Campbell, 2018 (51) | F | 0.5 | Alive | 115.4 | Pr | Yes | 9.6 | No |
47 | Simsek, 2018 (52) | M | 4 | Alive | 177 | Pr – St | Yes | 35 | No |
48 | Igarashi, 2018 (53) | M | 0 | Alive | 153 | Pr | Yes | 12.5 | No |
49 | Al-Ghamdi, 2018 (54) | M | 2 | Alive | 281 | Pr | Yes | 9.6 | No |
50 | Acharya, 2019 (55) | F | 0.5 | Alive | 100 | Pr – St | Yes | 25 | No |
51 | Osada 2019 (56) | M | 4 | Alive | 561 | Pr | Yes | 13 | Yes |
52 | Yang, 2019 (57) | F | 26 | Dead | ° | Pr - St – Vin | Yes | ° | No |
53 | Yang, 2019 (57) | F | 1.5 | Alive | ° | Pr | Yes | ° | No |
54 | Yang, 2019 (57) | F | 1.8 | Alive | ° | Pr | Yes | ° | No |
55 | Kim, 2020 (58) | M | 1 | Alive | 100 | Pr – St | Yes | 7 | No |
56 | Joshi, 2020 (59) | F | 3 | Alive | 75 | Pr – St – Int | Yes | 33 | Yes |
57 | Verma, 2020 (60) | F | 4 | Alive | 17.5 | Pr | Yes | 9.1 | No |
58 | Zheng, 2021 (61) | F | 2 | Alive | 150 | Pr | Yes | 20 | No |
59 | Siano, 2022 (20) | F | 3 | Alive | 58.7 | Pr | Yes | 10 | No |
60 | Siano, 2022 (20) | M | 1 | Alive | 36.7 | Pr | Yes | 12 | No |
61 | Siano, 2022 (20) | M | 6 | Alive | 60.7 | Pr - Sur | Yes | 15 | No |
62 | Numazawa, 2022 (62) | M | 1 | Alive | 63.9 | Pr - St | Yes | 7.5 | Yes |
63 | Morais, 2023 (63) | F | 3 | Alive | 27.1 | Pr | Yes | ° | No |
64 | Our case | M | 1.5 | Alive | 33.5 | Pr | No | - | No |
31 out of 64 (48.43%) of patients are female and the median age at diagnosis is 2 months. Death is reported in 7/64 patients (10.93%). The laboratory profile shows very high TSH levels at diagnosis, with a mean value of 145.5 mU/L. As regards the tumor-directed therapy, the use of different treatments is reported including corticosteroids, interferon, vincristine, cyclophosphamide, propranolol, surgery and liver transplantation. 38/64 patients (59.37%) received propranolol, either alone (20/38, 52.63%) or in combination with other treatments. 12/64 patients (18.75%) underwent surgical treatment or liver transplant.
Treatment of hypothyroidism consisted in the administration of LT4 and/or liothyronine. Among the 56 patients for whom we have data regarding the therapy, 52/56 (92.85%) received LT4. The mean maximum dose of LT4 alone was 24.04 mcg/kg/die; reported dosages ranged between 1 and 110 mcg/kg/d. The association of liothyronine was required in 15/52 (28.8%) patients. In 1 case, only liothyronine was used (Table 2, case n.45)
[Table – SEE END OF THE DOCUMENT]
IHH is a visceral neoplasm, often associated with cutaneous IH, which can lead to serious and fatal complications. Early diagnosis of IHH allows for rapid initiation of therapy and reduces IHH mortality. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends screening with abdominal ultrasound any child with 5 or more cutaneous IH to rule out visceral involvement. (2) Abdominal ultrasound can also be considered in children with fewer than 5 cutaneous IH, especially if associated with systemic impairment (20), even though a cut-off of 5 cutaneous IH has recently been confirmed to be the most appropriate threshold for abdominal ultrasonography screening. (21)
Virtually all diffuse IHH can cause CH, with variable severity depending on the extension of the neoplasm.
(1)Thyroid abnormalities may not be present at the time of neonatal screening as they occur when the neoplasm grows in the first few weeks of life. For this reason, we recommend investigating thyroid function in all infants with IHH, given the critical role of thyroid hormones in the development of the central nervous system in the first years of life.
Our review shows an increasing use of propranolol in the treatment of IHH, which is in fact supported by
literature data regarding the efficacy of propranolol in reducing IHH size and complications.(10, 15–17) Traditional medical treatments for IHH (systemic corticosteroids, chemotherapy, hepatic surgery or liver transplantation) are of inconsistent efficacy and cause significant side effects.(1, 17) As evidence of this, among the reviewed cases, most of the patients requiring surgery or liver transplantation were diagnosed before 2011 and were not treated with propranolol. Also, the number of patients who died due to IHH complications is higher among those not treated with propranolol (5 vs 2).
LT4 replacement therapy in CH often consists of very high doses of LT4, and in severe cases of the use of liothyronine in combination has been proposed. (12) This is due to the peripheral conversion to inactive forms (rT3) by Deiodinase 3, overexpressed in the hemangioma endothelium. Indeed, the reviewed cases received a mean dose of LT4 of 24.04 mcg/kg/day (range 1-110 mcg/kg/day), higher than the dose of 10–15 mcg/Kg/day usually adopted for primary congenital hypothyroidism. (22)
An important observation regarding the treatment of CH is that patients who received propranolol required a mean dose of LT4 of 18.31 mcg/kg/d to correct hypothyroidism, while patients who received other treatments required higher doses of LT4, with a mean dose of 35.5 mcg/d. This suggests that propranolol not only effectively treats IHH, but also helps restore the euthyroid state by reducing tumor size. Moreover, 4 patients out of 64 (6.25%), including our case, did not require any hormone replacement treatment. These patients were all aged less than or equal to 2 months at diagnosis. This suggests that early recognition of the IHH and prompt start of propranolol therapy can effectively treat subsequent CH without the need for hormone replacement therapy. Obviously, it is essential to follow the patient with a close endocrinological follow-up.
In the presence of 5 or more cutaneous hemangiomas, an abdominal ultrasound is recommended to rule out liver involvement. When the diagnosis of IHH is confirmed, it is important to test thyroid function to promptly diagnose CH. Early therapy with propranolol reduces hepatic lesions and the occurrence of possible complications. Furthermore, it may allow to avoid the need for hormone replacement therapy. In the case of CH, careful monitoring of thyroid function is essential, and hormonal replacement therapy should be started when necessary.