Risk of malignancy in Filipinos with thyroid nodules - A matched pair analysis

Background. Ethnicity is an infrequently cited risk factor for thyroid cancer. This study aims to determine whether patients of Filipino origin assessed at a tertiary referral center are at increased risk of thyroid cancer and to quantify that risk. Methods. This is a retrospective analysis of 72 Filipino patients with thyroid nodules undergoing thyroidectomy individually matched to 72 controls according to demographics, risk factors, and pre-referral investigations. Results. Thyroid cancer was found in 50 (69.4%) Filipino patients compared with 28 (38.9%) controls. Odds ratio for malignancy in Filipinos was 3.57 (95% confidence interval, 1.79-7.12). Pathologic characteristics of thyroid cancer were not significantly different in the two groups. The median follow-up for Filipino patients was 14.1 months (range, 1.4 months-19.7 years). Recurrence occurred in four Filipino patients, and one patient with anaplastic thyroid cancer died of the disease. Conclusions. Filipino patients with thyroid nodules are at significantly increased risk of thyroid cancer compared with matched controls, and hence the index of suspicion for malignancy should be high when evaluating these patients.