[Stability of mortality from thyroid cancer in a developing country].

OBJECTIVE To establish characteristics and the trend of mortality from thyroid cancer in Colombia. MATERIAL AND METHODS This is a study of mortality from thyroid cancer in Colombia using official national mortality databases (1998-2010). Year of death, sex, age and department of residence were analyzed. Proportions, arithmetic mean and median were used. The p-value for statistical significance was 0.05. Crude, specific and age-adjusted rates were calculated. RESULTS Overall, 2 570 people died of thyroid cancer; 1 827 (71.1 %) deaths occurred in women. Median age at death was 68 years for men and 70 years for women. The age-adjusted average annual mortality rate (2006-2010) for thyroid cancer was 0.52 cancer deaths per 100 000 (both sexes), 0.32 deaths per 100 000 men and 0.70 per 100 000 women. CONCLUSIONS Further studies showing potential factors associated with earlier age at death among Colombian women should be made.