Thyroid cancer mortality in an aging population

[摘要] Thyroid cancer is the fifth most common cancer diagnosed in women and accounts for more than 3 percent of all new cancer diagnoses.1 Reports indicate thyroid cancer incidence is rising, not simply because of earlier detection, but also from a true increase in disease occurrence.2 Fortunately, most patients diagnosed with thyroid cancer will survive. According to publicly available data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the annual mortality rate from thyroid cancer in the U.S. is constant at 0.5 per 100,000 population, but the number of thyroid cancer deaths is increasing.3 These trends likely reflect a growing population; however, this conclusion is based on incomplete evidence. Lim and colleagues recently identified a steady increase in incidence-based mortality for patients with thyroid cancer for nearly all histologic types and specifically for papillary thyroid cancer regardless of tumor stage or size at diagnosis.2 The underlying cause for the observed trends in thyroid cancer mortality is unclear.

[学科分类] 外科医学