Abstract
ObjectivesThyroid malignancy constitutes the sixth common cancer type in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). There are no epidemiological data outlining the prevalence of cancer in thyroid nodules, nor previous analysis of ultra-sonographic features correlating with thyroid malignancy in the UAE. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of thyroid malignancy in patients with thyroid nodules and to describe the ultra-sonographic characteristics of thyroid nodules harbouring malignancy.MethodsA retrospective electronic medical records review of all thyroid nodules in patients (aged 18 to 80 years) with normal thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) levels, who underwent ultrasound guided fine needle aspiration cytology (UG-FNA) at Sheikh Khalifa Medical City (SKMC) during 2011–2015.Results436 patients with normal TSH underwent UG-FNA cytological examination of thyroid nodules (n = 555 nodules). The overall crude prevalence of thyroid cancer among patients was 10.1% (95% CI 7.5–13.3). The age-adjusted prevalence of thyroid cancer among UAE nationals, Arabs, Far East Asians, and Caucasians were 9.6% (3.6–15.6), 10.0% (6.2–13.8), 16.8% (4.5–29.0) and 16.3% (1.7–30.9), respectively. The crude prevalence was 14.5%(95% CI 6.2–22.8) in men, and 9.3%(95% CI 6.3–12.2) in women. The echogenicity features were significantly different between the cancerous and noncancerous nodules (p = 0.025). Cancerous nodules were relatively more hyper- and hypo-echoic, while noncancerous nodules were mostly complex.ConclusionWe report a higher prevalence of thyroid malignancy among patients with thyroid nodules relative to that reported in other parts of the world. The rate of thyroid malignancy was higher in patients of Far-East Asian and Caucasian ethnic background.
Highlights
The overall worldwide incidence of thyroid malignancy has been increasing over the last four decades [1]
This study aimed to describe the prevalence of thyroid malignancy in euthyroid patients with thyroid nodules in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) population
Study design and settings This is a retrospective analysis of a cohort of patients who underwent ultrasound guided fine needle aspiration (UG-FNA) cytology for the first time from January 2011 to December 2015, at Sheikh Khalifa Medical City (SKMC) in Abu Dhabi
Summary
The overall worldwide incidence of thyroid malignancy has been increasing over the last four decades [1]. Ongoing research is aimed at exploring possible factors contributing to the formation of different thyroid cancer subtypes, to identify individuals at risk of thyroid malignancy [2]. Thyroid nodules are another common thyroid endocrinopathy with prevalence ranging from 1 to 5% in iodine-sufficient areas; this prevalence is significantly increased if nodules incidentally detected by ultrasound are included, reaching up to 68% [3]. Thyroid malignancy is the most common endocrine malignancy in the UAE, and papillary thyroid cancer is the most common type of thyroid cancer [4]. It is reported as the sixth most common cancer type among UAE population and the second among UAE women [4]
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