Skip to main content

Overdiagnosis of Thyroid Cancer Persists

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

By Lori Solomon HealthDay Reporter

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.

Posted February 2025

Read this next

Signatures of Disrupted Affective Sound Processing Identified in Tinnitus

MONDAY, May 5, 2025 -- For persons with sound sensitivity and tinnitus, accurate predictors of sensory disorder severity can be identified in pupil dilations and facial movements...

Advanced Biological Age Linked to Increased Risk for Incident Dementia

FRIDAY, May 2, 2025 -- Advanced biological age (BA) may be a risk factor for incident dementia, according to a study published online April 30 in Neurology. Yacong Bo, Ph.D...

Exposure to Smoke Pollution Ups Risk for Hospitalization for Respiratory Disease

FRIDAY, May 2, 2025 -- For older adults in the Western United States, exposure to high levels of smoke pollution is associated with an increase in hospitalizations for respiratory...

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.