Analysis of Race and Gender Disparities in Incidence-Based Mortality in Patients Diagnosed with Thyroid Cancer from 2000 to 2016

BACKGROUND: Well-differentiated thyroid cancer has better outcomes compared to undifferentiated/anaplastic thyroid cancer. The incidence of well-differentiated thyroid cancer is known to be more in women whereas it is approximately the same in both genders for anaplastic thyroid cancer. The variability of incidence-based mortality across gender in the context of race has not been studied. This study analyzes the rates of incidence-based mortality from the years 2000 to 2016 amongst both the genders in four racial groups. METHODS: The Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database was utilized to conduct a nation-wide analysis for the years 2000 to 2016. Incidence-based mortality for all stages of well-differentiated and undifferentiated thyroid cancer was queried and the results were grouped by race (Caucasian/White, African American/Black, American Indian/Alaskan Native and Asian/Pacific Islander) and gender. All stages and ages were included in the analysis. Two sample t-test was used to determine statistically significant difference between various subgroups. RESULTS: Incidence-based mortality rates (per 100,000) for well-differentiated and undifferentiated thyroid cancer for all races and both the genders were calculated. The incidence-based mortality rates for both genders are approximately the same despite a 2–3:1 difference in incidence. Anaplastic thyroid cancer has a higher mortality rate in Caucasian and Asian/Pacific Islander women compared to men despite an equal ratio in incidence. As expected, the mortality rates of anaplastic thyroid cancer were significantly higher compared to well-differentiated cancer across all races and genders. Also, Asian/Pacific Islander women have a higher rate of mortality compared to both the genders of Caucasian and African American races. CONCLUSION: Incidence-based mortality for anaplastic thyroid cancer is higher in women in all races whereas there is no difference in mortality between men and women for well-differentiated thyroid cancer. This is divergent from the incidence ratios noted in these malignancies. In the context of increasing incidence of thyroid cancer for the past few decades, this data suggests that additional resources may be devoted to decreasing the disparity of mortality in this gender.