Thyroid Cancer in Adolescents and Young Adults Is Surging Worldwide — But Deaths Aren’t: Strong Evidence of Overdiagnosis from a 185‑Country Analysis

Highlight

– Thyroid cancer incidence in adolescents and young adults (AYAs, 15–39 years) increased rapidly in most countries since the 2000s, while mortality remained stably low, consistent with overdiagnosis.

– In 2022 there were an estimated ~237,000 new AYA thyroid cancer cases and ~2,100 deaths worldwide; thyroid cancer represented 20.3% of all female AYA cancers and 13.6% of male AYA cancers.