E-Poster Presentation ESA-SRB-ANZBMS 2021

Current Trends in Thyroid Cancer Diagnoses in Australia (#330)

Kyle R Joseph 1
  1. Nepean Hospital, Kingswood, NSW, Australia

The incidence of thyroid cancer has been previously reported to be on the rise around the world. A study in the USA had shown a tripling of diagnoses between 1975 and 2009[1]. It is thought to be due to better detection of small primary cancers because of improved ultrasound techniques. This study aims to determine if the trend of increasing incidence of thyroid cancer continues in Australia. This study used data cubes obtained from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) and were analyzed to assess trends in thyroid cancer diagnosis over the period from 1982-2017. Results of the analysis shows an approximate 10-fold increase in the incidence of thyroid cancer over 35 years. 361 Cases in 1982 compared with 3154 cases in 2017. The number of thyroid cancer cases was predicted to rise to 3830 new cases in 2021. Incidence and mortality in Australia are higher than the WHO standards. Despite this, mortality per case has been shown to be decreasing over time. Operative management of has shown a preference toward hemithyroidectomy over total thyroidectomies overall. The current projections in the AIHW data cubes do not consider the impact that the SARS-COV-19 virus on the health care system and flow on effect for thyroid cancer diagnoses in Australia [2]. This consideration will likely cause a significance reduction in the number of new cases diagnosed and the trends of mortality and operative management are likewise expected to be affected. This study provides reference trends of incidence, mortality, operative management of thyroid cancer in Australia over an interval of 35 years.

  1. Davies, L. and H.G. Welch, Current thyroid cancer trends in the United States. JAMA Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg, 2014. 140(4): p. 317-22.
  2. te Marvelde, L., et al., Decline in cancer pathology notifications during the 2020 COVID-19-related restrictions in Victoria. Medical Journal of Australia, 2021. 214(6): p. 281-283.