[Epidemiologic characteristics of 336 thyroid cancers observed in the Auvergne region]

Patients treated and followed for thyroid cancer by a multidisciplinary group were studied between 1989 and 1993, 336 patients living in the French region Auvergne underwent total or partial thyroidectomy for thyroid carcinoma. The sex ratio was 4.3 and the median age was 52 (14-57) and 49 (17-83) in females and males respectively. Papillary carcinoma was the most common form: 76.5 of all thyroid tumors. The incidence of occult thyroid cancer was 17.4%; tumor size was smaller than for intranodular cancer (p < 0.00001). Tumor size at diagnosis of patients who died was higher than in patient who survived (p < 0.0001) and changed with histological type. It decreased between 1989 and 1993 (p < 0.01). 73% of the patients were asymptomatic before surgery, 23% described a rapid growth of their nodule. Clinically, 43.9% of the patients had a single nodule, 83% of these nodules were suspect because of their hardness. Median follow-up was 2.8 years. 279 patients are living and well, 28 were lost to follow-up and 39 died. There were 30 (8.93%) deaths due to thyroid carcinoma. In our study, significant prognostic factors for death were age at diagnosis (p < 0.0001), histological type (p < 0.0001) and nodular size (p < 0.01).