Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Thyroid cancer incidence and socioeconomic indicators of health care access

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Cancer Causes & Control Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Objective

It has been hypothesized that changes in diagnostic practices have driven the dramatic rise in thyroid cancer incidence over the past two decades. This study investigated the relation between the incidence of thyroid cancer and socioeconomic indicators of health care access.

Methods

We examined thyroid cancer incidence trends in Wisconsin, USA, between 1980 and 2004, according to patient and tumor characteristics. Ecologic analyses were conducted by county to examine the relation between thyroid cancer incidence and education, income, and health insurance coverage.

Results

The incidence of thyroid cancer nearly doubled in Wisconsin between 1980 and 2004, with almost all of the increase occurring between 1990 and 2004, during which an annual change of 4.0% (95% CI: 3.3–4.6) was observed. The bulk of the increase consisted of small, localized cancers of papillary histology. Ecologic analyses indicated moderate correlations by county between thyroid cancer incidence and median household income (r = 0.25), percent of residents with a college degree (r = 0.24), and percent of residents with health insurance (r = 0.41).

Conclusions

The association between thyroid cancer incidence and socioeconomic indicators of health care access is consistent with the hypothesis that the rising incidence trend is attributable to utilization of new diagnostic practices.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Ries L, Melbert D, Krapcho M et al (2007) SEER cancer statistics review, 1975–2004. National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD. http://seer.cancer.gov/csr/1975_2004/, based on November 2006 SEER data submission, posted to the SEER web site

  2. Liu S, Semenciw R, Ugnat AM, Mao Y (2001) Increasing thyroid cancer incidence in Canada, 1970–1996: time trends and age-period-cohort effects. Br J Cancer 85(9):1335–1339

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Burgess JR (2002) Temporal trends for thyroid carcinoma in Australia: an increasing incidence of papillary thyroid carcinoma (1982–1997). Thyroid 12(2):141–149

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Burgess JR, Tucker P (2006) Incidence trends for papillary thyroid carcinoma and their correlation with thyroid surgery and thyroid fine-needle aspirate cytology. Thyroid 16(1):47–53

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Lubina A, Cohen O, Barchana M et al (2006) Time trends of incidence rates of thyroid cancer in Israel: what might explain the sharp increase. Thyroid 16(10):1033–1040

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Colonna M, Grosclaude P, Remontet L et al (2002) Incidence of thyroid cancer in adults recorded by French cancer registries (1978–1997). Eur J Cancer 38(13):1762–1768

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Leenhardt L, Grosclaude P, Cherie-Challine L (2004) Increased incidence of thyroid carcinoma in France: a true epidemic or thyroid nodule management effects? Report from the French Thyroid Cancer Committee. Thyroid 14(12):1056–1060

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Reynolds RM, Weir J, Stockton DL, Brewster DH, Sandeep TC, Strachan MW (2005) Changing trends in incidence and mortality of thyroid cancer in Scotland. Clin Endocrinol (Oxf) 62(2):156–162

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Smailyte G, Miseikyte-Kaubriene E, Kurtinaitis J (2006) Increasing thyroid cancer incidence in Lithuania in 1978–2003. BMC Cancer 6:284

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Davies L, Welch HG (2006) Increasing incidence of thyroid cancer in the United States, 1973–2002. JAMA 295(18):2164–2167

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Verkooijen HM, Fioretta G, Pache JC et al (2003) Diagnostic changes as a reason for the increase in papillary thyroid cancer incidence in Geneva, Switzerland. Cancer Causes Control 14(1):13–17

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Zheng T, Holford TR, Chen Y et al (1996) Time trend and age-period-cohort effect on incidence of thyroid cancer in Connecticut, 1935–1992. Int J Cancer 67(4):504–509

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Gilbert ES, Tarone R, Bouville A, Ron E (1998) Thyroid cancer rates and 131I doses from Nevada atmospheric nuclear bomb tests. J Natl Cancer Inst 90(21):1654–1660

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Hundahl SA (1998) Perspective: National Cancer Institute summary report about estimated exposures and thyroid doses received from iodine 131 in fallout after Nevada atmospheric nuclear bomb tests. CA Cancer J Clin 48(5):285–298

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Robbins J, Schneider AB (2000) Thyroid cancer following exposure to radioactive iodine. Rev Endocr Metab Disord 1(3):197–203

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Rojeski MT, Gharib H (1985) Nodular thyroid disease. Evaluation and management. N Engl J Med 313(7):428–436

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Ross DS (2006) Editorial: predicting thyroid malignancy. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 91(11):4253–4255

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Bondeson L, Ljungberg O (1981) Occult thyroid carcinoma at autopsy in Malmo, Sweden. Cancer 47(2):319–323

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. Harach HR, Franssila KO, Wasenius VM (1985) Occult papillary carcinoma of the thyroid. A “normal” finding in Finland. A systematic autopsy study. Cancer 56(3):531–538

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. Solares CA, Penalonzo MA, Xu M, Orellana E (2005) Occult papillary thyroid carcinoma in postmortem species: prevalence at autopsy. Am J Otolaryngol 26(2):87–90

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  21. Sobrinho-Simoes MA, Sambade MC, Goncalves V (1979) Latent thyroid carcinoma at autopsy: a study from Oporto, Portugal. Cancer 43(5):1702–1706

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. Fritz A, Percy C, Jack A et al (eds) (2000) International classification of diseases for oncology, 3rd edn. World Health Organization, Geneva

  23. Young JL Jr, Roffers SD, Ries LAG, Fritz AG, Hurlbut AA (eds) (2001) SEER summary stage manual—2000: codes and coding instructions. National Cancer Insitute, NIH, Bethesda, MD, Pub. No. 01-4969

  24. Vila PM, Booske BC, Kempf AM, Athens JK, Remington PL (2006) 2006 Wisconsin County Health Rankings Full Report. Unviersity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute

  25. Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services, Division of Public Health, Bureau of Health Information and Policy (2005) Wisconsin Health Insurance Coverage, 2004 (PPH 5369-04)

  26. United States Department of Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau, Population Division (2005) Census Population 1970–2000 for Public Health Research, CDC WONDER On-line Database, March 2003. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics, Bridged-Race Population Estimates, United States, 1990–2003, July 1st resident population by state, county, age, sex, race, and Hispanic origin, on CDC WONDER On-line Database, June 2005

  27. United States Department of Health and Human Services (US DHHS), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), Bridged-Race Population Estimates, United States July 1st resident population by state, county, age, sex, race, and Hispanic origin, compiled from 1990–1999 intercensal population estimates and 2000–2005 (vintage 2005) bridged-race postcensal population estimates on CDC WONDER On-line Database, April 2007

  28. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics. Compressed Mortality File 1979–1998. CDC WONDER On-line Database, compiled from Compressed Mortality File CMF 1968–1988, Series 20, No. 2A, 2000 and CMF 1989–1998, Series 20, No. 2E, 2003

  29. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics. Compressed Mortality File 1999–2004. CDC WONDER On-line Database, compiled from Compressed Mortality File 1999–2004 Series 20 No. 2J, 2007

  30. Standard Populations (Millions) for Age-Adjustment. Available at: http://seer.cancer.gov/stdpopulations/. Accessed April 2007

  31. Ries LA, Wingo PA, Miller DS et al (2000) The annual report to the nation on the status of cancer, 1973–1997, with a special section on colorectal cancer. Cancer 88(10):2398–2424

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  32. Breslow NE, Day NE (1987) Statistical methods in cancer research, vol II—the design and analysis of cohort studies. IARC Scientific Publications, Lyon

    Google Scholar 

  33. SAS Institute Inc. (1999) SAS procedures guide, version 8. SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC, p 289

    Google Scholar 

  34. Palta M (2003) Quantitative methods in population health; extensions of ordinary regression. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, NJ

    Google Scholar 

  35. Kulldorff M (1997) A spatial scan statistic. Commun Stat Theory Methods 26:1481–1496

    Article  Google Scholar 

  36. Kulldorff M and Information Management Services, Inc. SaTScanTM v7.0: Software for the spatial and space-time scan statistics. www.satscan.org [program], 2007

  37. U.S. Census Bureau Census 2000 Summary File 1. Available at www.census.gov

  38. U.S. Census Bureau Census 2000 Summary File 3. Available at www.census.gov

  39. DeNavas-Walt C, Proctor BD, Mills R (2007) U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Reports, P60–233: income, poverty, and health insurance coverage in the United States, 2006. U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC

  40. Truong T, Rougier Y, Dubourdieu D et al (2007) Time trends and geographic variations for thyroid cancer in New Caledonia, a very high incidence area (1985–1999). Eur J Cancer Prev 16(1):62–70

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  41. Lazarus JH (1997) Hyperthyroidism. Lancet 349(9048):339–343

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  42. Ghori FY, Gutterman-Litofsky DR, Jamal A, Yeung SC, Arem R, Sherman SI (2002) Socioeconomic factors and the presentation, management, and outcome of patients with differentiated thyroid carcinoma. Thyroid 12(11):1009–1016

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  43. Fincham SM, Ugnat AM, Hill GB, Kreiger N, Mao Y (2000) Is occupation a risk factor for thyroid cancer? Canadian Cancer Registries Epidemiology Research Group. J Occup Environ Med 42(3):318–322

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  44. Levi F, Negri E, La Vecchia C, Te VC (1988) Socioeconomic groups and cancer risk at death in the Swiss Canton of Vaud. Int J Epidemiol 17(4):711–717

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  45. Baker SR, Bhatti WA (2006) The thyroid cancer epidemic: is it the dark side of the CT revolution? Eur J Radiol 60(1):67–69

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  46. Negri E, Dal Maso L, Ron E et al (1999) A pooled analysis of case–control studies of thyroid cancer. II. Menstrual and reproductive factors. Cancer Causes Control 10(2):143–155

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Laura Stephenson and the staff of the Wisconsin Cancer Reporting System for assistance with cancer data, John Hampton for technical assistance with population projections and data management, and Christine Vatovec for technical assistance with ArcView mapping. This study was funded in part by a gift from the Fraternal Order of Eagles Arie #1502 to the University of Wisconsin Paul P. Carbone Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Population Health Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 610 Walnut St., WARF Room 701, Madison, WI, 53726, USA

    Brian L. Sprague, Shaneda Warren Andersen & Amy Trentham-Dietz

  2. University of Wisconsin Paul P. Carbone Comprehensive Cancer Center, Madison, WI, USA

    Brian L. Sprague, Shaneda Warren Andersen & Amy Trentham-Dietz

Authors
  1. Brian L. Sprague
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Shaneda Warren Andersen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Amy Trentham-Dietz
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Amy Trentham-Dietz.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Sprague, B.L., Warren Andersen, S. & Trentham-Dietz, A. Thyroid cancer incidence and socioeconomic indicators of health care access. Cancer Causes Control 19, 585–593 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10552-008-9122-0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10552-008-9122-0

Keywords

Search

Navigation