Exploring the Incidence of Malignancy in Thyroid Swelling: A Cross-Sectional Perspective

Abstract

Introduction: Thyroid malignancy is a global health problem. It is the most common among all endocrine malignancies. The incidence of thyroid cancer is increasing all over the world. Bangladesh is not exempted. The worldwide prevalence of goiter in the general population is estimated at 4-7%. The incidence of malignancy in goitrous thyroid is about 10%. An increased incidence of thyroid carcinoma has been noted in endemic goiter zones. Bangladesh also has some goitrous zones. The frequency of carcinoma is two times higher in solitary thyroid nodules than in multinodular goiter. Male patients with thyroid swelling showed a high incidence of malignancy. Objective: The study aims to find out the incidence of malignancy in thyroid swelling in a tertiary level hospital of Bangladesh. Materials and Methods: It is a cross-sectional observational study done in the department of ENT & HNS, Cumilla Medical College Hospital from January 2023 to December 2023 with 60 hospitalized patients of different thyroid swelling undergone surgery. Results: In this series of 60 patients of thyroid swelling the age of the patients ranged from 15 to 80, the mean age was 37.73. There were 53 females (88.33%) and 07 males (11.66%) with female to male ratio of 7.6:1. Among the non-neoplastic group (n=33;55%) nodular goitre had the highest incidence (n=20;33.33%) followed by multinodular goitre (n=11;18.33%). The incidence of papillary cell carcinoma was predominant. Among 60 patients with thyroid swelling, it was 28.33% (n=17) and among the malignant lesions (n=22) it was 77.27%. (n=17). The incidence of malignancy (n=22;36.66%)) is more than that of benign (n=5;8.33%). A high incidence of malignancy is observed in male sex. 05 male patients out of 07 were malignant bearing an incidence of 71.42%. In relation to the age of the malignant patients, the incidence is high in 31–40-year group (27.27%). The incidence of malignancy is high in extreme ages also noted. Conclusion: The incidence of thyroid malignancy in thyroid swelling is high. Females of middle age are in a risk group and papillary carcinoma is the commonest of all thyroid malignancies. Appropriate medical attention is warranted for early diagnosis and proper management to reduce morbidity and mortality. Medicine Today 2024, Vol.36 (2): 99-103