Studies on Geographic Variations and Gender Bias in Thyroid Cancer at National Guard Hospitals in Saudi Arabia

Thyroid cancer (TC) is one of the most prevalent cancers in the world, ranked as ninth worldwide and third in Saudi Arabia. This report reviews the incidence of TC at National Guard Hospitals (Riyadh, Jeddah, and Ahsa), in relation to gender, geographic variation and age. The study design is quantitative cross-sectional retrospective review; data of 2166 patients with TC diagnosed in National Guard Hospitals (Ahsa -Jeddah- Riyadh) in the period of 2015-2021 was received from King Abdullah International Medical Research Center (KAIMRC). Chi- square, t-test, and ANOVA-tests were used in analyzing the relationship between variables. Out of the 2166 patient records, (79.78%) were females, and (46.6%) were in the age group of 40-60 with a mean age of 47.28 years. Riyadh had the highest incidence of TC (49.8%), while Ahsa had the lowest (5.6%). the commonest TC type was papillary (83.5%) followed by follicular (4.0%), medullary (1.2%), anaplastic (1.1%), hurthle cell carcinoma (0.8%) and thyroid lymphoma (0.1%). Females were more suspected to have TC, and the risk of having TC increases as age increases until the age of 60, where it decreases. The registered cases were more in Riyadh, Jeddah and Ahsa,respectively, except for lymphoma and hurthle cell, as they were high in Jeddah. Lymphoma was reported in Jeddah and in males only. The mortality rate was low (2.4%). However, increased death risk was observed in patients diagnosed above the age of 60.Mortality was seen in papillary, anaplastic and a single death case was reported in follicular TC. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest. ### Funding Statement This study did not receive any funding. ### Author Declarations I confirm all relevant ethical guidelines have been followed, and any necessary IRB and/or ethics committee approvals have been obtained. Yes The details of the IRB/oversight body that provided approval or exemption for the research described are given below: This project was approved by Institutional Review Board (Research Ethics Board) of King Abdullah International Medical Research Centre (KAIMRC) as part of our university. I confirm that all necessary patient/participant consent has been obtained and the appropriate institutional forms have been archived, and that any patient/participant/sample identifiers included were not known to anyone (e.g., hospital staff, patients or participants themselves) outside the research group so cannot be used to identify individuals. Yes I understand that all clinical trials and any other prospective interventional studies must be registered with an ICMJE-approved registry, such as ClinicalTrials.gov. I confirm that any such study reported in the manuscript has been registered and the trial registration ID is provided (note: if posting a prospective study registered retrospectively, please provide a statement in the trial ID field explaining why the study was not registered in advance). Yes I have followed all appropriate research reporting guidelines, such as any relevant EQUATOR Network research reporting checklist(s) and other pertinent material, if applicable. Yes All data produced in the present study are available upon reasonable request to the authors.