Thyroid Ultrasound, Fine-Needle Aspiration Linked to Thyroid Cancer Incidence

the Cancer Therapy Advisor take:

An increased incidence of thyroid cancer may be the result of increased use of thyroid ultrasound and fine-needle aspiration (FNA), according to a Veterans Affairs (VA) study published in Cancer.

Jose Zevallos, MD, MPH, FACS, and colleagues at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill examined VA administrative data from 2000 to 2012, hypothesizing that incidence of thyroid cancer would correspond to increases in ultrasound and FNA modalities.

The researchers found a jump in thyroid cancer incidence per 100,000 individuals, from 10.3 in 2000 to 21.5 in 2012. At the same time, rate of thyroid ultrasound use jumped  from 125.6 in 2001 to 572.1 in 2012, while FNA went from 7 in 200 to 46 in 2012.

There was a statistically significant increase in thyroid cancer incidence from 2000 to 2008, followed by  more pronounced increase from 2008 to 2012, which corresponded with an increase in thyroid ultrasound use from 2002 to 2012 and FNA from 2000 to 2012.

“These findings suggest that the increase in thyroid cancer incidence may be related to increases in the use of thyroid ultrasound and FNA,” the authors concluded.