Trends of thyroid cancer in children and adolescents over 23 Years in KSA.

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to determine the incidence of thyroid cancer (TC) in children and adolescents in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) during 23 years from 1994 to 2017.

METHODS

Data were extracted from the Saudi National Cancer Registry for individuals aged 0-19 years diagnosed with TC from 1994 to 2017. TC incidence was retrospectively analyzed, age standardized for the Saudi Arabian population, and expressed per 100,000 people based on sex, nationality (Saudi and non-Saudi), and age at diagnosis (0-4, 5-9, 10-14, and 15-19 years). Data regarding the type of TC and tumor, node, and metastasis staging were excluded due to incomplete information.

RESULTS

Overall, 706 patients were diagnosed with TC during the study period and 86.3 % were from KSA. The highest incidence (114) was observed between 2012 and 2014. The lowest crude incidence rate (CIR) was observed in 1994-1996 (4.45/100,000), and the CIR was highest among patients aged 15-16 years (26.7/100,000). Women were disproportionally affected by TC, with an average CIR of 45/100,000 compared with 8.2/100,000 in men. Geographically, Riyadh had the highest CIR, particularly in 2004 (6.9/100,000), 2016 (15.4/100,000), and 2017 (15.1/100,000).

CONCLUSION

A three-fold increase was observed in the incidence of TC among children and adolescents in KSA from 1994 to 2017, reaching a peak between 2012 and 2014. Further studies are warranted to investigate the factors that contributed to this increasing trend.