Patterns of Benign and Malignant Lesions of the Thyroid in Two Wilayahs of Northeastern Algeria

Abstract

The aim of this study is to compare histological patterns and to estimate the burden of thyroid cancers in the two Wilayahs (departments) of El-Taref and Guelma in northeast of Algeria (total population 0.9 million), locally reputed as having different rates of endemic thyroid diseases and cancer. A retrospective analysis of central pathology registers and clinical records of patients with thyroid diseases, covering the period 2008–2012, was conducted. A total of 145 cases of thyroid cancers with histological confirmation were registered in the two Wilayahs during the period, with a female to male ratio of 5.9 : 1. Estimates of crude incidence rates suggested that thyroid cancers were twice as frequent in the Wilayah of Guelma compared to El-Taref (p < 0.05) with a tendency to occur at a younger age in resident of the Wilayah of El-Taref. Diagnoses of thyroid adenoma were more frequent in the Wilayah of Guelma, whereas the prevalence of other thyroid lesions, including goitre, was similar in the two Wilayahs. This first descriptive study on geographic variations in thyroid cancer in Northern Africa suggests that significant differences may occur in relation with environmental and lifestyle exposures.

Malignant Thyroid Lesions: A Histopathological Perspective

“…In other words, as the incidence of follicular carcinoma wanes, there is seen the waxing of that of papillary carcinoma with the passage of time. A review of thyroid carcinomas on the African continent in 20 literatures, [28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47] published between 1952 and 2014, corroborated this finding (Table 3). In these studies, cancers occurring between 1952 and 1998 were predominantly of the follicular subtype, while those occurring between1999 and 2014 were predominantly papillary carcinomas ( Table 3).…”

Epidemiology, Clinic-histopathological features and Surgical treatment of Papillary Thyroid Cancer: A Retrospective Descriptive Study in Northwestern Algeria

“…There was a high prevalence of endemic goiter in Algeria because of iodine deficiency (Hafdi-Nejjari et al, 2018). It was first implemented in 1967 in areas with a high prevalence of endemic goiter and then nationwide since 1990 (Guidoum et al, 2015). The results of a population-based investigation in Algeria (1993Algeria ( -2013 by (Boukheris et al, 2020b) suggest a shift from an iodine deficiency state to sufficient to excessive iodine supplementation.…”

Changes in the Demographic and Clinicopathological Characteristics of Thyroid Cancer: A Population-Based Investigation in Algeria, 1993-2013

“…However, over the study period, the frequency of PTC increased while that of FTC decreased, which may reflect a shift from iodine-deficient to iodine sufficient-to-excessive supplementation status. In a previous publication by Guidoum et al, PTC was the predominant histologic type in two districts in Northeastern Algeria [ 52 ].…”