Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2018 Aug 11;5(1):34-40.
doi: 10.1016/j.wjorl.2018.05.006. eCollection 2019 Mar.

Is the incidence of anaplastic thyroid cancer increasing: A population based epidemiology study

Tyler A Janz  1 , David M Neskey  1 , Shaun A Nguyen  1 , Eric J Lentsch  1
Affiliations
Review

Is the incidence of anaplastic thyroid cancer increasing: A population based epidemiology study

Tyler A Janz et al. World J Otorhinolaryngol Head Neck Surg. .

Abstract

Objective: To provide an understanding of the incidence of anaplastic thyroid cancer within the United States.

Methods: Patients in the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database were included from 1973 to 2014 based on a diagnosis of anaplastic thyroid cancer using ICD O-3 codes. Patients were categorized into cohorts based on their year of diagnosis.

Results: 1527 patients were diagnosed with anaplastic thyroid cancer within the SEER 18 registries. The age-adjusted incidence rate was 0.2 per 1,000,000 people (95% CI: 0.0-0.5) in 1973 and was 1.2 per 1,000,000 people (95% CI: 0.8-1.6) in 2014 (average annual percent change: 3.0% [95% CI: 2.2%-3.7%]). Patients tended to be of older age (mean age: 70.5 [range 15.0-102.0]), of female sex (62.8%), and Caucasian (81.1%). Finally, survival over time remained the same, as median disease specific survival months was 4.00 (95% CI: 2.26-5.74) from 1995 to 1999 and 4.00 (95% CI: 3.26-4.74) from 2010 to 2014.

Conclusions: The incidence rate of anaplastic thyroid cancer has increased from 1973 to 2014. Interestingly, median survival in months did not greatly change overtime. Based on this increasing incidence, physicians must act appropriately to identify patients with anaplastic thyroid cancer as it possesses a high morbidity and mortality.

Level of evidence: 4.

Keywords: Anaplastic thyroid cancer; Head and neck; Head and neck endocrine surgery; Head and neck oncology; Thyroid cancer.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Age-adjusted incidence rate per million persons (2000 US standard population) of anaplastic thyroid cases based on year of diagnosis.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
5-year disease-specific survival of patients who received no surgery, a subtotal/near total thyroidectomy, or a total thyroidectomy.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
5-year disease-specific survival of all anaplastic thyroid cancer patients.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Davies L., Morris L.G., Haymart M. American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists and American College of Endocrinology disease state clinical review: the increasing incidence of thyroid cancer. Endocr Pract. 2015;21:686–696. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Howlader N.N.A., Krapcho M., Miller D. 2017. SEER Cancer Statistics Review, 1975-2014.https://seer.cancer.gov/csr/1975_2014/
    1. Dijkstra B., Prichard R.S., Lee A. Changing patterns of thyroid carcinoma. Ir J Med Sci. 2007;176:87–90. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17486294 - PubMed
    1. Pathak K.A., Leslie W.D., Klonisch T.C., Nason R.W. The changing face of thyroid cancer in a population-based cohort. Cancer Med. 2013;2:537–544. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24156026 - PMC - PubMed
    1. Joinpoint Trend Analysis Software. 2017. https://surveillance.cancer.gov/joinpoint/