It wasn't overdiagnosis... As thyroid cancer tests decreased, the number of deaths increased.

Thyroid cancer has been embroiled in controversy over overdiagnosis and overtreatment over the past decade, leading to a shift in treatment strategy towards a more conservative diagnostic approach. As a result, research has shown an increase in the number of deaths. The need to reevaluate the treatment strategy has been raised.

Professor Shin-Gon Kim and Professor Kyung-Jin Kim's team from the Department of Endocrinology at Korea University Anam Hospital conducted a study to examine the impact of the changed treatment strategies for thyroid cancer, due to the controversy over overdiagnosis, on patient prognosis including mortality.

The research team analyzed the changes in thyroid cancer-related mortality rates among a total of 434,228 thyroid cancer patients using National Health Insurance Service data from 2005 to 2018.

As a result, the incidence rate of thyroid cancer increased from 2005 to 2012, but after a sharp decline following the issue of overdiagnosis in 2015, it stabilized. The number of diagnosed patients in 2012 soared to 91.9 per 100,000 people, but decreased to 50.6 in 2015.

However, the mortality rate was 1.94 per 1,000 person-years in 2005, reached its lowest point at 0.76 in 2013, and increased again to 2.70 in 2018. In particular, the mortality rate for patients who did not undergo thyroidectomy or had total thyroidectomy increased after 2013. The mortality rate for patients who underwent hemithyroidectomy or partial thyroidectomy remained low throughout the entire period.

The research team stated, "The increase in mortality related to thyroid cancer since 2015 suggests that there are areas for improvement in the diagnostic and treatment criteria applied after the controversy over overdiagnosis." They added, "It is necessary to accurately assess the risk of thyroid cancer to ensure proper diagnosis and active treatment for high-risk patients, while also reducing overtreatment and ensuring precise follow-up observation for low-risk patients. The academic community's efforts are needed in this regard."

Meanwhile, the results of this study were recently published in the 'International Journal of Surgery,' one of the prestigious international journals in the field of surgery.

<Source: Health Chosun>