Objective To analyze the epidemic trend of thyroid cancer in China from 2005 to 2018, and understand the estimated epidemiological situation of thyroid cancer in China in 2022 based on the thyroid cancer registration data reported by the National Cancer Registration Center and the China Cancer Registration Annual Report. Methods The cases of new thyroid cancer and deaths in China were analyzed according to the data of approximately 700 cancer registries in 2018 and the data of 106 cancer registries from 2005 to 2018, then stratified by sex, age, urban and rural areas, and main regions in China. And the estimated incidence and mortality of thyroid cancer in China in 2022 were analyzed based on the population data in 2020. Results ① The age standardized incidence rate (ASIR) and age standardized mortality (ASMR) of thyroid cancer in China from 2005 to 2018: in the whole population, the ASIR showed a relatively rapid upward trend and the ASMR showed a relatively slower upward trend; The ASIR and ASMR of men were lower than those of women and the trend of change was also slower than that of women; The ASIR of thyroid cancer in the whole urban population was markedly higher than that in the rural population and the average annual rising rate (AARR) in the urban and rural areas was 6.31% and 0.38% respectively, while the ASMR had no obviously difference between the urban and rural populations (the AARR was 3.23% and 2.33% respectively); The ASIR of thyroid cancer was the highest in the eastern region with a markedly rising, but its ASMR had a relatively lower rising rate, while the ASIR in the western region was relatively lower and the ASMR also showed a downward trend, and the ASMR in the central region had a relatively obvious rising rate. ② The estimated incidence and mortality of thyroid cancer in China in 2022: the estimated ASIR and ASMR of the whole population in 2022 was still rising as compared with in 2018 (ASIR: 24.64 per 100 000 vs. 12.01 per 100 000; ASMR: 0.45 per 100 000 vs. 0.37 per 100 000 ); The estimated ASIR and ASMR in women were still much higher than in men (ASIR: 36.51 per 100 000 vs. 13.25 per 100 000; ASMR: 0.55 per 100 000 vs. 0.35 per 100 000); Among the urban and rural populations, the estimated ASIR in urban was still higher than in rural areas (27.87 per 100 000 vs. 17.66 per 100 000), while the estimated ASMR had no marked difference between them (0.41 per 100 000 vs. 0.52 per 100 000). Compared with 2018, the development trend of the ASIR was still rising (urban: 27.87 per 100 000 vs. 15.58 per 100 000; rural: 17.66 per 100 000 vs. 8.95 per 100 000). The age specific ASIR of thyroid cancer showed a marked sex differences, that is, it began to rise rapidly from the 20–30 years old group, and reached the peak at the 45–50 years old group (the highest ASIR was 97.00 per 100 000) in women; However, which had been in a slower upward trend from the 0 to 20 years old group, while it had been rising rapidly from the 20 to 25 years old group, reaching the peak at the 30–35 years old group (the highest ASIR was 31.60 per 100 000) in men. The overall trend of age specific ASMR for thyroid cancer was similar for both males and females, with a slower increase starting from the 0–35 years old age group and continuous rising till 85 years old and above. Conclusions The incidence and mortality of thyroid cancer in China are rising, and the disease burden is still severe and the differences are existed in urban and rural areas, sex, age, and main regions. Overall, the prevention and control situation is complex and severe in China.

Citation： HE Linye, WANG Yichao, LI Zhihui. Analysis of prevalence of thyroid cancer in 2022 in China: based on the data of China Cancer Registry Annual Report (2005–2018). CHINESE JOURNAL OF BASES AND CLINICS IN GENERAL SURGERY, 2024, 31(7): 790-795. doi: 10.7507/1007-9424.202406070 Copy