Thyroid Cancer Survival in the Multiethnic Cohort Study

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Epidemiology
• Public Health

Background:

• Thyroid cancer (TC) has a high US 5-year survival rate (>95%).
• Investigating survival disparities by sex and race/ethnicity is crucial for understanding TC outcomes in diverse populations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine survival differences in thyroid cancer (TC) based on sex and race/ethnicity within a multiethnic US cohort.
• To compare mortality risks between TC cases and controls without thyroid cancer.

Main Methods:

• Utilized data from the Multiethnic Cohort (MEC) study, identifying 605 incident TC cases.
• Employed Cox models to analyze all-cause mortality, adjusting for clinical and demographic factors.
• Compared survival rates of TC cases against matched MEC controls.

Main Results:

• Overall 5-year survival for female TC cases was 84.4% versus 68.7% for males (p < 0.0001).
• Lower survival rates were observed in African American, Native Hawaiian, and Filipino TC cases compared to Japanese American cases.
• Men and Filipino TC cases showed increased mortality risk compared to controls.

Conclusions:

• Sex and racial/ethnic disparities in TC survival mirror those in the general population.
• Males and individuals of Filipino descent with TC exhibited an elevated risk of death.