Carcinoma of the thyroid gland: report of 100 cases from Jordan University Hospital

ABSTRACT

This is a study of 100 cases of thyroid cancer treated at Jordan University Hospital, between 1975 and 1989. It included 84 cases of differentiated carcinoma, 8 cases of medullary thyroid carcinoma [MTC], 7 cases of anaplastic carcinoma and a case of lymphoma. The sex ratio was 2.2/1 in favor of females. The peak age incidence for the differentiated and medullary tumors was between the fourth and fifth decades, and for the anaplastic carcinomas in the seventh decade. Clinical diagnosis of malignancy was possible in 35% of cases only. In the remaining 65%, it presented as a solitary nodule [45%], as a multinodular goiter [MNG] [13%], as cervical lymph node metastasis with occult thyroid cancer [6%], and as a toxic goiter [1%]. Lymph node metastases were detected at presentation in 24% of patients and distant metastases were only met in about 7% of patients. The prognosis of patients with medullary and anaplastic carcinomas was very poor. On the other hand the prognosis of those with differentiated thyroid cancers depended largely on age at presentation. Only 3.8% of patients less than 50 years old died of their thyroid in contrast to 48% of those above 50 years old