SynthesisEndocrine2021
Triggers of thyroid cancer diagnosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Endocrine, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 28 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
28 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Safety of surgery for managing hyperthyroidism in patients with or without preoperative euthyroidism: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Endocrine · 2025Pooled it
- Implementation strategies to support ultrasound thyroid nodule risk stratification: A systematic review.Clinical endocrinology · 2023Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Thyroid cancer-derived exosomal SPP1 promotes tumor progression by driving macrophage M2 polarization through the CD44/JAK2/STAT3 signaling pathway.Organogenesis · 2026Article
- Review
- Global epidemiology of thyroid cancer: trends in incidence, mortality, and DALYs from 1990 to 2021.Open medicine (Warsaw, Poland) · 2026Article
- Impact of COVID-19 restrictions on thyroid cancer diagnoses in a comprehensive cancer center (2017-2023).PloS one · 2026Article
- Unravelling the rise in thyroid cancer incidence and addressing overdiagnosis.Nature reviews. Endocrinology · 2026Review
- Long-term risk of incident thyroid cancer after COVID-19 in patients with thyroid disorder: a multicenter propensity score-matched cohort study.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2026Article
- Thyroid Cancer: Epidemiology, Classification, Risk Factors, Diagnostic and Prognostic Markers, and Current Treatment Strategies.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- GLP-1RA Use and Thyroid Cancer Risk.JAMA otolaryngology-- head & neck surgery · 2025Article
- Differential Ultrasound Rates Mirror Sex Disparities in Thyroid Cancer.Thyroid : official journal of the American Thyroid Association · 2024Article
- The evolving process of ferroptosis in thyroid cancer: Novel mechanisms and opportunities.Journal of cellular and molecular medicine · 2024Review
- Thyroid Ultrasound Appropriateness Identification Through Natural Language Processing of Electronic Health Records.Mayo Clinic proceedings. Digital health · 2024Article
- Machine-learning-based prediction of a diagnostic model using autophagy-related genes based on RNA sequencing for patients with papillary thyroid carcinoma.Open medicine (Warsaw, Poland) · 2024Article
- Physical Examination of the Thyroid: Accuracy in Detecting Thyroid Nodules and Frequency of Additional Findings.Endocrine practice : official journal of the American College of Endocrinology and the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists · 2024Observational
- Assessing Symptomatic Hypocalcemia Risk After Total Thyroidectomy: A Prospective Study.International archives of otorhinolaryngology · 2024Article
- Thyroid Nodules and Obesity.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
- Incidentalomas in the head & neck.The British journal of radiology · 2023Review
- Survival Comparison of Incidentally Found versus Clinically Detected Thyroid Cancers: An Analysis of a Nationwide Cohort Study.Endocrinology and metabolism (Seoul, Korea) · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
12 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeUnderstanding the method of thyroid cancer detection has potential implications on interpreting incidence rates, the diagnosis and management of thyroid cancer. We conducted a systematic review of studies reporting methods of thyroid cancer detection to estimate the frequency of incidentally found cancers and classify triggers of incidental thyroid cancer diagnosis.
methodsWe searched multiple bibliographic databases from inception to June 2020. A pair of reviewers, working independently and in duplicate selected studies for inclusion, extracted data, and evaluated each trial's risk of bias. Studies enrolling patients older than 18 years with thyroid cancer confirmed histologically were included.
resultsIn total, 17 cohorts and 1 cross-sectional study, conducted between 1991 and 2018, enrolling 4668 patients with thyroid cancer were included: 88% had papillary thyroid cancer and 23% had papillary thyroid microcarcinoma. The proportion of patients with non-incidental and incidental thyroid cancer was similar: 49% [95% confidence interval (CI): 40-58%]. Subgroup analysis showed that most patients with incidental thyroid cancers had tumor size <10 mm (76%; 95% CI: 56-92%), age >45 (61%; 95% CI: 56-67%), and were detected through imaging (35%; 95% CI: 26-45%), of which ultrasound was the most common modality (27%; 95% CI: 14-43%). The heterogeneity for all the effect sizes was large and significant.
conclusionsAbout half of thyroid cancers were found incidentally through the use of imaging studies, in particular neck ultrasound. These incidentally found cancers were mostly small papillary thyroid cancer. These results highlight opportunities for interventions aimed at reducing drivers of overdiagnosis.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.