title: Annual increase in the frequency of papillary thyroid carcinoma as diagnosed by fine-needle aspiration at a cytology unit in Sicily.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  An increased frequency of papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) has been reported in the literature, including studies based on fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC).
  
  
  METHODS
  To substantiate our own ascertainment of such an increase, we retrieved all the diagnoses of ultrasound-guided FNAC which was performed on 11,389 patients referred for cytological evaluation of a single or dominant thyroid nodule from 1988 to 2010. FNAC yielded 11,258 adequate specimens.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The number of patients with PTC was 200 (age 10-83 yrs) and increased significantly from 1988 to 2010 (r= 0.916, P<0.001). Expressing data as percent of FNAC in any given year, PTC and colloid goiter increased, while adenomatous goiter, follicular lesions and anaplastic or medullary thyroid cancer decreased. PTC accounted for 0% of all FNAC diagnoses in 1988 but for 2% in 2010, with a peak of 2.6% in 2006. Of interest, chronic lymphocytic thyroiditis (CLT) also increased, preceding the increase of PTC by 5-6 years.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We conclude that in the regions on either side of the Strait of Messina (Italy), PTC has become progressively more frequent during the 23-year period between 1988 and 2010 and that this increase lagged behind the increase of CLT.
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Pathology, Section of Clinical Oncology, University of Messina, Messina, Italy.
authors.forename: Massimo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rizzo
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sindoni
authors.forename: Raffaele
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Talamo Rossi
authors.forename: Orsola
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Bonaffini
authors.forename: Stefania
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Panetta
authors.forename: Claudio
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Scisca
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Altavilla
authors.forename: Lucia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Denaro
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rosanò
authors.forename: Giovanna
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Saraceno
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Trimarchi
authors.forename: Salvatore
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Benvenga
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D002277:Carcinoma / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology*; D002291:Carcinoma, Papillary; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D002648:Child; D061765:Endoscopic Ultrasound-Guided Fine Needle Aspiration; D005260:Female; D050031:Hashimoto Disease / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012802:Sicily / Q000453:epidemiology; D000077273:Thyroid Cancer, Papillary; D013964:Thyroid Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology*; D013997:Time Factors; D055815:Young Adult