Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Thyroid cancer in the Middle Eastern population of California

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

Abstract

Objective

To describe and compare the epidemiology of thyroid cancer in the rapidly growing Middle Eastern (ME) population and the non-Hispanic, non-Middle Eastern White (NHNMW) residents of California. Population with ME heritage that is officially not recognized as a distinct ethnicity has rarely been studied in the past.

Methods

ME cases in the California cancer registry files for 1988–2004 were identified by surname recognition. ME population was estimated by ancestry from census data.

Results

Thyroid cancer in ME group, 869 cases and 56 deaths were compared with 19,182 cases and 1,327 deaths in the NHNMW population. Age-adjusted rate ratio (RR) for incidence was 1.5 (95% CI 1.3–1.7) in men and 1.5 (95% CI 1.4–1.7) in women. RR for mortality was 1.4 (95% CI 0.9–2.4) in men and 2.3 (95% CI 1.4–3.9) in women. Papillary tumors comprised over 80% of all cases and their pattern correlated with the rapid increase in thyroid cancer in recent years. Five-year observed survival in ME men was significantly higher than in NHNMW men, but similar in women.

Conclusions

Eighty-five percent of ME cases identified in this study were born in the Middle East. The higher incidence of thyroid cancer in this immigrant population may largely reflect a combination of sequels of radiation treatment for fungal diseases of the scalp that was common in the area in early 1950s, benign proliferative thyroid disease that is common in the area due to dietary iodine imbalance, and possibly genetic predisposition.

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

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Howe HL, Wu X, Ries LA et al (2006) Annual report to the nation on the status of cancer, 1975–2003, featuring cancer among U.S. Hispanic/Latino populations. Cancer 107:1711–1742. doi:10.1002/cncr.22193

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Sakoda L, Horn-Ross PL (2002) Reproductive andmenstrual history and papillary thyroid cancer risk: the San Francisco Bay Area Thyroid Cancer Study. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 11:51–57

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Mack WJ, Preston-Martin S, Bernstein L, Qian D, Xiang M (1999) Reproductive and hormonal risk factors for thyroid cancer in Los Angeles County females. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 8:991–997

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Davies L, Welsh HG (2006) Increasing incidence of thyroid cancer in the United States, 1973–2002. JAMA 295:2164–2167. doi:10.1001/jama.295.18.2164

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Leenhardt L, Grosclaude P, Chérié-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 14:1056–1060. doi:10.1089/thy.2004.14.1056

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Burgess JR, Tucker P (2006) Incidence trends for papillary thyroid carcinoma and their correlation with thyroid surgery and thyroid fine-needle aspirate cytology. Thyroid 16:47–53. doi:10.1089/thy.2006.16.47

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Farahati J, Geling M, Mäder U et al (2004) Changing trends of incidence and prognosis of thyroid carcinoma in lower Franconia, Germany, from 1981–1995. Thyroid 14:141–147. doi:10.1089/105072504322880382

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Levi F, Randimbison L, Te VC, La Vecchia C (2002) Thyroid cancer in Vaud, Switzerland: an update. Thyroid 12:163–168. doi:10.1089/105072502753522400

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Ferlay J, Bray F, Pisani P, Parkin DM (2004) Globocan 2002. Cancer incidence, mortality and prevalence worldwide. IARC CancerBase No. 5, version 2.0. IARC Press, Lyon

    Google Scholar 

  10. Freedman LS, Edwards BK, Ries LAG, Young JL (eds) (2006) Cancer incidence in four member countries (Cyprus, Egypt, Israel, and Jordan) of the Middle Eastern cancer consortium (MECC) compared with US SEER. National Cancer Institute. NIH Pub. No. 06-5873, Bethesda

  11. Parkin DM, Whelan SL, Ferlay J, Teppo L, Thomas DB (2002) Cancer incidence in five continents, vol VIII. IARC Scientific Publication No. 155, International Agency for Research on Cancer, Lyon

  12. Iribarren C, Haselkorn T, Tekawa IS, Friedman GD (2001) Cohort study of thyroid cancer in a San Francisco Bay area population. Int J Cancer 93:745–750. doi:10.1002/ijc.1377

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Bernstein L, Miu A, Monroe K, Henderson BE, Ross RK (1995) Cancer incidence among Filipinos in Los Angeles County, 1972–1991. Int J Cancer 63:345–348. doi:10.1002/ijc.2910630307

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Haselkorn T, Bernstein L, Preston-Martin S, Cozen W, Mack WJ (2000) Descriptive epidemiology of thyroid cancer in Los Angeles County, 1972–1995. Cancer Causes Control 11:163–170. doi:10.1023/A:1008932123830

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Kolonel LN (1985) Cancer incidence among Filipinos in Hawaii and the Philippines. Natl Cancer Inst Monogr 69:93–98

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Haselkorn T, Stewart SL, Horn-Ross PL (2003) Why are thyroid cancer rates so high in Southeast Asian women living in the United States? The Bay area thyroid cancer study. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 12:144–150

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  17. Rossing MA, Schwartz SM, Weiss NS (1995) Thyroid cancer incidence in Asian migrants to the United States and their descendants. Cancer Causes Control 6:439–444. doi:10.1007/BF00052184

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Nagataki S, Nyström E (2002) Epidemiology and primary prevention of thyroid cancer. Thyroid 12:889–896. doi:10.1089/105072502761016511

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  19. Jacob P, Bogdanova TI, Buglova E, Chepurniy M, Demidchik Y, Gavrilin Y, Kenigsberg J, Meckbach R, Schotola C, Shinkarev S, Tronko MD, Ulanovsky A, Vavilov S, Walsh L (2002) Thyroid cancer risk in areas of Ukraine and Belarus affected by the Chernobyl accident. Radiat Res 165:1–8. doi:10.1667/RR3479.1

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Ron E, Lubin JH, Shore RE, Mabuchi K, Modan B, Pottern LM, Schneider AB, Tucker MA, Boice JD Jr (1995) Thyroid cancer after exposure to external radiation: a pooled analysis of seven studies. Radiat Res 141:259–277. doi:10.2307/3579003

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. Mack WJ, Preston-Martin S, Bernstein L, Qian D (2002) Lifestyle and other risk factors for thyroid cancer in Los Angeles County females. Ann Epidemiol 12:395–401. doi:10.1016/S1047-2797(01)00281-2

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  22. Camarota SA (2002) Immigrants from the Middle East: a profile of the foreign-born population from Pakistan to Morocco. Center for Immigration Studies, August 2002. Available at http://www.cis.org

  23. Office of Management and Budget, Interagency Committee for the Review of Standards for Data on Race and Ethnicity, Tabulation Working group (2002) Provisional guidance on the implementation on the 1997 standards for federal data on race and ethnicity. Office of Management and Budget, Washington, D.C., 15 Dec 2000 (about 102 pp). Available from http://www.ofm.wa.gov/pop/race/omb.pdf. Cited 25 Aug 2007

  24. Kwong SL, Perkins CI, Morris CR, Cohen R, Allen M, Wright WE (2001) Cancer in California: 1988–1999. California Department of Health Services, Cancer Surveillance Section, Sacramento

    Google Scholar 

  25. Mills PK, Yang RC, Riordan D (2005) Cancer incidence in the Hmong in California 1988–2000. Cancer 104:S2969–S2974. doi:10.1002/cncr.21525

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Lauderdale DS, Kestenbaum B (2000) Asian American ethnic identification by surname. Popul Res Policy Rev 19:283–300. doi:10.1023/A:1026582308352

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. Cummins C, Winter H, Cheng KK, Silcocks P, Varghese C (1999) An assessment of the Nam Pechan computer program for identification of names of south Asian ethnic origin. J Public Health Med 21:401–406. doi:10.1093/pubmed/21.4.401

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  28. Schwartz KL, Kulwicki A, Weiss LK, Fakhhouri H, Sakr W, Kau G et al (2004) Cancer among Arab Americans in the metropolitan Detroit area. Ethn Dis 14:141–146

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  29. Nasseri K (2007) Construction and validation of a list of common Middle Eastern surnames for epidemiological research. Cancer Detect Prev 31:424–429. doi:10.1016/j.cdp. 2007.10.006

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  30. Nasseri K, Mills PK, Allen M (2007) Cancer incidence in the Middle Eastern population of California, 1988–2004. Asian Pac J Cancer Prev 8:405–411

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  31. Ferlay J, Bray F, Pisani P, Parkin DM (2004) GLOBOCAN. Cancer incidence, mortality and prevalence worldwide. IARC CancerBase No. 5, version 2.0. IARCPress, Lyon

    Google Scholar 

  32. Ronckers C, Ron E (2006) Thyroid cancer. In: Freedman LS, Edwards BK, Ries LAG, Young JL (eds) Cancer incidence in four member countries (Cyprus, Egypt, Israel, and Jordan) of the Middle East cancer consortium (MECC) compared with US SEER. National Cancer Institute, NIH Pub. No. 06-5873, Bethesda

  33. Abdulmughni YA, Al-Hureibi MA, Al-Hureibi KA, Ghafoor MA, Al-Wadan AH, Al-Huraibi YA (2004) Thyroid cancer in Yemen. Saudi Med J 25:55–59

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  34. Memon A, Varghese A, Suresh A (2002) Benign thyroid disease and dietary factors in thyroid cancer: a case-control study in Kuwait. Br J Cancer 86:1745–1750. doi:10.1038/sj.bjc.6600303

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  35. Memon A, Darif M, Al-Saleh K, Suresh A (2002) Epidemiology of reproductive and hormonal factors in thyroid cancer: evidence from a case-control study in the Middle East. Int J Cancer 97:82–89. doi:10.1002/ijc.1573

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  36. Lubina A, Cohen O, Barchana M, Liphshiz I, Vered I, Sadetzki S, Karasik A (2006) Time trends of incidence rtes of thyroid cancer in Israel: what might explain the sharp increase. Thyroid 16:1033–1040. doi:10.1089/thy.2006.16.1033

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  37. Larijani B, Shirzad M, Mohagheghi MA, Haghpanah V, Mosavi-Jarrahi AR, Tavangar SM, Vassigh AR, Hossein-Nezhad A, Bandarian F, Baradar-Jalili R (2004) Epidemiologic analysis of the Tehran Cancer Institute Data System Registry (TCIDSR). Asian Pac J Cancer Prev 5:36–39

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  38. Fritz A, Percy C, Jack A, Shanmugaratnam K, Sobin L, Parkin DM, Whelan S. (eds) (2000) International Classification of Diseases for Oncology, 3rd edn. U.S. Interim Version 2000, World Health Organization, Geneva

  39. Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results Program of the National Cancer Institute. Available from http://seer.cancer.gov/registries/.

  40. Yost K, Perkins C, Cohen R, Morris C, Wright W (2001) Socioeconomic status and breast cancer incidence in California for different race/ethnic groups. Cancer Causes Control 12:703–711. doi:10.1023/A:1011240019516

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  41. Ruggles S, Sobek M, Alexander T et al (2004) Integrated Public Use Microdata Series: version 3.0 [Machine-readable database]. Minnesota Population Center [producer and distributor], Minneapolis

  42. California Cancer Registry, California Department of Health Services, Cancer Surveillance Section. Census Bureau population estimates for 1990–2003; Benchmarked 1988–1989 DOF population estimates, June 2006. www.ccrcal.org

  43. Surveillance Research Program, National Cancer Institute SEER*Stat software, version 6.2.4. www.seer.cancer.gov/seerstat

  44. SAS Institute Inc (2004) SAS 9.1.3. SAS Institute Inc, Cary

    Google Scholar 

  45. Boyle P, Parkin DM (1991) Statistical methods for registries. In: Jensen OM, Parkin DM, MacLennan R, Muir CS, Skeet RG (eds) Cancer registration: principles and methods. IARC Scientific Publication No. 95. IARC, Lyon, pp 126–158

    Google Scholar 

  46. Azizi F, Mehran L (2004) Experiences in the prevention, control and elimination of iodine deficiency disorders: a regional perspective. East Mediterr Reg Health Serv J 10:761–770

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  47. Azizi F, Navai L, Navai L, Fattahi F (2002) Goiter prevalence, urinary iodine excretion, thyroid function and anti-thyroid function and antithyroid antibodies after 12 years of salt iodization in Shahriar, Iran. Int J Vitam Nutr Res 72:291–295

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  48. Mottram ME, Hill HA (1949) Radiation therapy of ringworm of the scalp. Calif Med 70:189–193

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  49. Sadetzki S, Chetrit A, Lubina A, Stovall M, Novikov I (2006) Risk of thyroid cancer after childhood exposure to ionizing radiation for Tinea capitis. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 91:4798–4804. doi:10.1210/jc.2006-0743

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  50. Hashemian H, Keyhani A (1977) Carcinoma of the thyroid gland in Iran. Br J Surg 64:457–459. doi:10.1002/bjs.1800640702

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  51. Omidvari Sh, Mohammadianpanah M, Mosalaei A, Ahmadloo N (2004) Glioblastoma multiforme 35 years after radiation therapy for Tinea capitis. J Med Res 2:64–68

    Google Scholar 

  52. Ekmekci P, Bostanci S, Anadolu R, Erdem C, Gurgey E (2001) Multiple basal cell carcinomas developed after radiation therapy for Tinea capitis: a case report. Dermatol Surg 27:667–669. doi:10.1046/j.1524-4725.2001.01026.x

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  53. Sadetzki S, Modan B, Chetrit A, Freedman L (2000) A iatrogenic epidemic of benign meningioma. Am J Epidemiol 151:266–272

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  54. Moradi T, Nordqvist T, Allebeck P, Galanti MR (2007) Risk of thyroid cancer among Iranian immigrants in Sweden. Cancer Causes Control. doi:10.1007/s10552-007-9087-4.

  55. Kikuchi S, Perrier ND, Ituarte P, Siperstein AE, Duh QY, Clark OH (2004) Latency period of thyroid neoplasia after radiation exposure. Ann Surg 239:536–543. doi:10.1097/01.sla.0000118752.34052.b7

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  56. Abraido-Lanza AF, Dohrenwend BP, DS Ng-Mak, Turner JB (1999) The Latino mortality paradox: a test of the ‘salmon bias’ and healthy migrant hypotheses. Am J Public Health 89:1543–1548

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  57. McCredie M, Coates M, Grulich A (1994) Cancer incidence immigrants to New South Wales (Australia) from the Middle East, 1972–1991. Cancer Causes Control 5:414–421. doi:10.1007/BF01694755

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgment

The collection of cancer incidence data used in this study was supported by the California Department of Public Health as part of the statewide cancer reporting program mandated by California Health and Safety Code Section 103885; the National Cancer Institute’s Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results Program under contract N01-PC-35136 awarded to the Northern California Cancer Center, contract N01-PC-35139 awarded to the University of Southern California, and contract N01-PC-54404 awarded to the Public Health Institute; and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Program of Cancer Registries, under agreement 1U58DP00807-01 awarded to the Public Health Institute. The ideas and opinions expressed herein are those of the author(s) and endorsement by the State of California, Department of Public Health the National Cancer Institute, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or their contractors and subcontractors is not intended nor should be inferred. This work was partially supported by the grant CA103457 from the National Cancer Institute to Kiumarss Nasseri and was approved by the Institutional Review Board of the Public Health Institute. The author acknowledges the valuable input by Paul K. Mills, PhD.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Public Health Institute, California Cancer Registry, 3944 State Street, Suite 330, Santa Barbara, CA, 93105, USA

    Kiumarss Nasseri

Authors
  1. Kiumarss Nasseri
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kiumarss Nasseri.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Nasseri, K. Thyroid cancer in the Middle Eastern population of California. Cancer Causes Control 19, 1183–1191 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10552-008-9185-y

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10552-008-9185-y

Keywords

Search

Navigation