Thyroid Cancer

While thyroid cancer incidence has globally increased over the last few decades, mortality has been steadily declining. This is essentially due to increased diagnosis of papillary thyroid cancer, due to the widespread use of ultrasound scan. Thyroid cancer is one of the few neoplasms more common in women than in men. Familial and genetic factors account for 5% to 15% of papillary or follicular neoplasms, and the association is even stronger for medullary carcinomas. Thyroid cancer risk is strongly related to benign thyroid diseases, particularly nodules and adenomas and goiter. The other major recognized risk factor is ionizing radiation, in particular iodine 131. Aspects of diet related to thyroid cancer risk include iodine deficiency—particularly for follicular thyroid cancer. However, fish and cruciferous vegetables are not consistently related to thyroid cancer risk. Tobacco and alcohol do not materially influence thyroid cancer risk, whereas overweight/obesity and adult height might increase risk.