甲状腺癌是最常见的内分泌系统恶性肿瘤,女性明显多于男性。[6]Cobin RH, Gharib H, Bergman DA, et al; Thyroid Carcinoma Task Force. AACE/AAES medical/surgical guidelines for clinical practice: management of thyroid carcinoma. Endocr Pract. 2001 May-Jun;7(3):202-20.http://www.aace.com/files/thyroid-carcinoma.pdfhttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11430305?tool=bestpractice.com对于甲状腺癌,值得注意的是新发甲状腺癌的发病率在过去几十年内持续上升。[7]Pellegriti G, Frasca F, Regalbuto C, et al. Worldwide increasing incidence of thyroid cancer: update on epidemiology and risk factors. J Cancer Epidemiol. 2013;2013:965212.https://www.hindawi.com/journals/jce/2013/965212/http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23737785?tool=bestpractice.com[8]Howlader N, Noone AM, Krapcho M, et al, eds. SEER Cancer Statistics Review, 1975-2014. Bethesda, MD: National Cancer Institute; 2017.https://seer.cancer.gov/csr/1975_2014/ 各地理区域的发病率有所不同,北美洲发病率最高,非洲发病率最低,但这可能反映了全球数据质量的不同。[9]Cancer Research UK. UK thyroid cancer incidence statistics: 2014. 2017. [internet publication].http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/health-professional/cancer-statistics/statistics-by-cancer-type/thyroid-cancer 在美国,甲状腺癌占每年新发癌症病例的 3.4%。[8]Howlader N, Noone AM, Krapcho M, et al, eds. SEER Cancer Statistics Review, 1975-2014. Bethesda, MD: National Cancer Institute; 2017.https://seer.cancer.gov/csr/1975_2014/ 男性和女性新发甲状腺癌的年发病率为 14.2/100,000。男性和女性患者的年死亡率为 0.5/100,000。[8]Howlader N, Noone AM, Krapcho M, et al, eds. SEER Cancer Statistics Review, 1975-2014. Bethesda, MD: National Cancer Institute; 2017.https://seer.cancer.gov/csr/1975_2014/ 诊断时的中位年龄为 45-54 岁。