New variant of thyroid cancer contributing to 20% increase in incidence among Arab patients

DUBAI, UAE - March 23, 2015 - PRLog -- Over the past two decades there has been almost three fold increase in incidence of thyroid cancer globally. Thyroid cancer is the second most common cancer amongst females in the UAE, accounting for approximately 10% of all cancers among females.

Female gender may be a risk factor and an age of less than 45 years can be considered an important prognostic factor, as well as a possible risk factor.  Although thyroid cancer has an overall good prognosis, early detection and management is the key.

According to Dr Yogesh More, Consultant Surgeon, SKMC, Abu Dhabi, UAE, there is a new variant of thyroid cancer (follicular), and although this was identified approximately 30 years ago, “there has been an approximate 20% increase in the incidence of this particular variant of thyroid cancer today. This is one of the most commonly reported types of thyroid cancer and is known to be more aggressive than the standard papillary thyroid cancer.”

Dr More will be speaking about the increasing incidence of thyroid cancer in the Arab region at the upcoming 12th Middle East Update in Otolaryngology Conference & Exhibition (ME-OTO) at Madinat Jumeirah Arena, Dubai, UAE, from 19-21 April 2015. The event will host 1,000s of healthcare professionals working in the otolaryngology, ENT and head & neck surgery fields in the Middle East region.

There are a few variables that contribute to the overall increase in the number of identified thyroid cancer patients in the UAE. These variables may not be pathological, but are caused by factors such as population expansion, advances in investigation and detection technologies such as Ultrasound, PET-CT imaging and other modalities; increased awareness;  the convenience of prescribing thyroid  bloods tests amongst general practitioners; and the infusion of iodine in the average diet over the past three decades.


“Future challenges faced by the healthcare community in diagnosing thyroid cancers are the standardization of diagnostic testing as well as reporting, multispecialty tumour management with expertise in thyroid (head neck surgeons, endocrinologists, nuclear medicine specialists, pathologists and radiologists), in addition to dedicated centres for research and management of thyroid disorders within the UAE,” says Dr More.