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Incidence/Prevalence

It is estimated that there will be about 37,000 new diagnoses of thyroid cancer in the U.S. in 2008, a number which has grown each year(over the last year alone, the incidence of thyroid cancer increased by 11%).[1] In the U.S., there is a twofold to threefold higher incidence of new thyroid cancer in women than in men.[1]

The majority of thyroid cancers are composed of two forms of well-differentiated cancer—papillary and follicular—that progress slowly, are the most responsive to treatment, and have a high survival rate.[2] Since most diagnoses occur between the ages of 20 and 54 and recurrence rates for thyroid cancer are high, patients may require decades of follow-up.[3]

The onset of papillary thyroid cancer tends to occur between ages 30 to 50, and the occurrence is three times more likely in females than in males. Patients with follicular cancer tend to be older (>40 years of age) with more advanced tumor stage at the time of diagnosis than those with papillary cancer. About half who die from thyroid cancer suffer a pulmonary death, either respiratory failure from pulmonary metastases or suffocation from airway compromise.[4] Hürthle cell cancer, an even more aggressive form of follicular cancer, generally occurs in people older than 60 years of age.

REFERENCES:

1. American Cancer Society. Detailed Guide: Thyroid Cancer. Available at: http://www.cancer.org Accessed October 27, 2008.

2. Hay ID, Klee GG. Thyroid cancer diagnosis and management. Clin Lab Med. 1993;13:725-734.

3. Mazzaferri, et al. 1999 An overview of the management of papillary and follicular thyroid carcinoma. Thyroid 9:421-427.

4. Mazzaferri EL, Kloos RT, Current approaches to primary therapy for papillary and follicular thyroid cancer. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2001;86:1447-1463