Incidence rate of thyroid cancer in Iranian population, trend analysis from 2003 to 2009

Background and aims: Thyroid cancer is the most common endocrine malignant and papillary cancer and three times more prevalent in women than men. The aim of this study was to evaluate the incidence rate and trend of thyroid cancer in Iranian population. Methods: National incidence was rated by Iran National Cancer Registry data derived from Iran’s annual national cancer registration reported from 2003 to 2009. The crude rate and age standardized rate were used to express the incidence of thyroid cancer. Results: The results indicated that, the incidence of thyroid cancer increased from 2003 to 2009. The age standardized rate for women and men increased from 2.02 and 0.82 to 4.2 and 1.36 per 100,000, respectively. Conclusion: This study indicated remarkable increasing trends in thyroid cancer incidence. So, attention to high risk groups and public programs is necessary to reduce the incidence of this cancer in future.