In a new study, researchers found that there is an increasing global burden of thyroid cancer.
The research was conducted by a team at the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University Hangzhou.
Thyroid cancer is the most pervasive endocrine cancer worldwide.
In the study, the team used data from the Global Health Data Exchange query tool (195 countries and 21 regions from 1990 through 2017) in order to examine trends in the burden of thyroid cancer.
The researchers found that during the study period, there were increases in thyroid cancer incident cases (169%), deaths (87%), and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs; 75%).
When standardizing for age, the incidence rate showed an upward trend over time, with an estimated annual percentage change of 1.59.
Southern and Eastern Asia accounted for almost half of the thyroid cancer burden.
Females accounted for the majority of the thyroid cancer burden (70.22% for incidence, 58.39% for deaths, and 58.68% for DALYs).
In addition, just over one-third (34%) of patients with thyroid cancer lived in countries with a high sociodemographic index and most patients were aged 50 to 69 years.
For women, the most common age at onset of thyroid cancer worldwide was 15 to 49 years versus 50 to 69 years in men.
However, death from thyroid cancer was concentrated in those ≥70 years and increased by years (average annual percentage change, 0.10).
The team says the thyroid cancer burden was largely different across various categories evaluated, possibly reflecting differences in the corresponding genetic and environmental risk factors, as well as levels of economic status, education, lifestyle, and access to medical screening and therapeutic care.
One author of the study is YuJiao Deng, Ph.D.from the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University Hangzhou.
The study is published in JAMA Network Open.
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