Trends in Thyroid Cancer Incidence and Mortality in the United States, 1974-2013

Thyroid cancer incidence has increased substantially in the United States over the last 4 decades, driven largely by increases in papillary thyroid cancer. It is unclear whether the increasing incidence of papillary thyroid cancer has been related to thyroid cancer mortality trends.

To compare trends in thyroid cancer incidence and mortality by tumor characteristics at diagnosis. Design, Setting, and Participants: Trends in thyroid cancer incidence and incidence-based mortality rates were evaluated using data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results-9 (SEER-9) cancer registry program, and annual percent change in rates was calculated using log-linear regression. Exposure: Tumor characteristics. Main Outcomes and Measures: Annual percent changes in age-adjusted thyroid cancer incidence and incidence-based mortality rates by histologic type and SEER stage for cases diagnosed during 1974-2013.