Malignant Thyroid Lesions: A Histopathological Perspective

Introduction: Thyroid cancer incidence is increasing globally. This increase has been attributed to improvement in diagnostic methods. This study has as its aim the analysis of the pattern of thyroid gland malignancies seen at the Jos University Teaching Hospital, Jos, Nigeria, between January 2008 and December 2018.

Methodology: A descriptive retrospective study of consecutive cases of thyroid specimens analyzed at our center was done. Data was obtained from the Histopathology Department Records. The diagnosis of each case was confirmed by reviewing archival slides.

Results: There were 70 cases of thyroid carcinomas during the period of the study. The histological types of thyroid cancers seen were: follicular carcinoma, papillary carcinoma, medullary carcinoma and anaplastic carcinoma, respectively accounting for 36(51.4%), 23(32.9%), 4(5.7%) and 7(8.6%) cases. There was only 1 case of follicular carcinoma in 2012, and non between 2013 and 2018. The male to female ratio was 1: 3.1. The mean age of thyroid carcinoma was 42.7 years, with an age range of 13-80 years.

Conclusion: The histological pattern of thyroid cancers has changed over the last two decades in our environment with the erstwhile predominant follicular carcinoma receding to near disappearance. The papillary carcinoma histotype is currently overwhelmingly the commonest type diagnosed. The former is relatively commonly seen in the older age group, in a sharp contrast with the later. The female gender remains the most afflicted group.