A steady increase of thyroid cancer incidence since the 1970's with the increased detection
of small, early stage, papillary thyroid cancer and stable, low mortality rates may suggest
over-diagnosis of thyroid cancer due to the increased use and quality of diagnostic imaging
modalities. Furthermore, most patients diagnosed with thyroid cancer, including small, early
stage, papillary thyroid cancer, receive surgical treatment because this is still the gold
standard treatment for thyroid cancer. These cancers have however an excellent prognosis …

Background In contrast to the rapid increase in thyroid cancer incidence, the mortality has
remained low and stable over the last decades. In Ecuador, however, thyroid cancer
mortality has increased. The objective of this study is to determine possible drivers of high
rates of thyroid cancer mortality, through a cross-sectional analysis of all patients attending a
thyroid cancer referral center in Ecuador. Methods From June 2014 to December 2017, a
cross-sectional study was conducted at the Hospital de Especialidades Eugenio Espejo, a …