Demographic charectrestics and risk factors in 320 thyroid cancer patients

Background: Thyroid cancer is a rare disease which includes less than 1% percent of all human cancers. The aim of this study is to evaluate the demographic characteristics and risk factors among patients with thyroid malignancy at the Cancer institute and Imam Khomeini hospital in Tehran Iran. Methods: This is a retrospective descriptive study of the charts of 320 patients admitted with the diagnosis of thyroid malignancy based on pathologic reports in the above- mentioned hospitals from 1992 to 2002. Results: From the 320 patients diagnosed with thyroid malignancy 68.1% were papillary cancer, 10.9% were follicular cancer, 10.6% were anaplastic cancer, 9.06% were medullary cancer and 1.2% were lymphoma. The average of the patients was 50.2 years, ranging from 12 to 98 years; 60.6% were female and 39.4 %were male; 22.8% of the patients had histories of thyroid nodule and 5% had received radiation therapy. From the anatomic point of view 57.5% of the cancers were in the right lobe of thyroid, 38.1% were in left lobe and 4.4% in the isthmus. None of the patients had positive family history of thyroid malignancy. Conclusion: Thyroid malignancy is more prevalent in the fifth decade of life and more common among females. Therefore, among patients in this group, alarming symptoms, such as anterior neck mass, thyroid nodule and voice change, should be evaluated more seriously