Incidence of thyroid carcinoma in the Philippines: A retrospective study from a tertiary university hospital

Abstract

Abstract Background Thyroid cancer is the most common endocrine-related malignancy in the Philippines. It ranks seventh overall based on the latest Department of Health statistics. Its incidence increases every year, noted especially in females and in the reproductive age group. This study determined the incidence and the profile of all thyroid carcinomas encountered in a tertiary teaching hospital in the Philippines. Methods Data were collected from the University of Santo Tomas Hospital in 2015 to 2018 from different specialties, including the Pathology Department. All information gathered were kept confidential in respect to the data privacy act. Results A total of 1618 thyroid specimens were sent for histopathologic examination from 2015-2018 and 35.6% (n\u2009=\u2009576) of these were malignant. Fine needle aspiration was the most frequent form of biopsy done. Eight hundred eighty patients underwent thyroidectomy and 43% (n\u2009=\u2009378) of them had malignancy based on final histopathology. Eighty one percent (81%) were females and 19% were males. The most common type of malignancy was papillary thyroid carcinoma (74.6%), followed by papillary microcarcinoma (18.4%), follicular carcinoma (4.8%), anaplastic carcinoma (0.7%), squamous cell (0.7%) and poorly differentiated carcinoma (0.9%). The most frequent subtype of papillary carcinoma seen was the conventional type (31.7%). Majority of the patients had no extrathyroidal extension (41%), no lymphovascular invasion (38%), had clear margins (70%) and had no lymph node involvement (21%). Of the patients diagnosed with papillary and follicular carcinoma and papillary microcarcinoma, 30% underwent RAI in the same institution. There were 17 patients who underwent radiation therapy, mostly for palliative intent because of RAI-refractory disease. There was one case who underwent concurrent chemoradiation for anaplastic thyroid carcinoma. Conclusions This study showed that one-third of thyroid specimens received in the institution turned out to be malignant, with papillary carcinoma still the most frequent type. Total thyroidectomy is the most common form of curative surgery done. Legal entity responsible for the study The authors. Funding Has not received any funding. Disclosure All authors have declared no conflicts of interest.