Carcinoma of the Thyroid in Ga-Rankuwa Hospital, Pretoria

Objective: To determine the pattern of thyroid carcinoma diagnosed at Ga-Rankuwa Hospital over a ten-year period.

Design: A retrospective study.

Settings: Ga-Rankuwa Hospital; a teaching hospital for the Medical University of Southern Africa.

Subjects: Seventy one patients who were diagnosed as having carcinoma of the thyroid during the study period.

Results: The male to female ratio was 1:4.5. Papillary and follicular carcinoma constituted 42.3% and 40.9%, respectively. Anaplastic carcinoma constituted seven per cent and three cases of medullary carcinoma were seen. There were two cases of Hurthle cell carcinoma and two cases showed a mixed histology.

Conclusion: All the histological subtypes of thyroid carcinoma do occur in our patient population.