Skip to main content

Overdiagnosis of Thyroid Cancer Persists

By Lori Solomon HealthDay Reporter

Medically reviewed by Carmen Pope, BPharm. Last updated on Feb 12, 2025.

via HealthDay

WEDNESDAY, Feb. 12, 2025 -- Overdiagnosis of thyroid cancer in the United States remains a persistent problem, according to a study published online Feb. 5 in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology.

Michelle M. Chen, M.D., from Stanford University in Palo Alto, California, and colleagues examined whether U.S. thyroid cancer incidence has truly decreased or merely plateaued and to understand some of the underlying factors driving these trends. The analysis included 91,968 patients with thyroid cancer identified from the National Cancer Institute Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database and the National Center for Health Statistics database (1975 to 2019).

The researchers found that the rise and subsequent plateau in the incidence of thyroid cancer have been primarily driven by time period effects, likely due to changing patterns in diagnostic pressure. The incidence of thyroid cancer by age increased during the study period and was driven predominantly by overdiagnosis. Although the incidence of thyroid cancer has plateaued, it remains at peak levels, suggesting that overdiagnosis remains a crucial unresolved public health issue.

"Further work is needed to help limit the current drivers of overdiagnosis and to implement novel solutions aimed at ... physicians, patients, and policy makers," the authors write.

Several authors disclosed ties to relevant organizations.

Abstract/Full Text (subscription or payment may be required)

Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.

© 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Read this next

Weather Disasters Impacted Counties With More Than 60 Percent of Drug Production Facilities

FRIDAY, Aug. 22, 2025 -- More than 60 percent of drug production facilities were located in U.S. counties with at least one disaster declaration from 2019 to 2024, according to a...

Sensitive Personalities Tied to More Mental Health Conditions

FRIDAY, Aug. 22, 2025 -- People with sensitive personalities are more prone to common mental health problems such as agoraphobia and avoidant personality disorder, according to a...

Novel Biomarker Risk Prediction Models Examined in Chronic Kidney Disease

FRIDAY, Aug. 22, 2025 -- For adults with nondialysis chronic kidney disease (CKD), risk prediction models incorporating novel biomarkers show comparable discrimination to...

More news resources

Subscribe to our newsletter

Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.