Thyroid cancer is the 19th most common cancer in the UK (2013), accounting for less than 0.9% of all new cases. In males, it is the 20th most common cancer (0.5% of the male total), whilst in females it is the 17th most common cancer (1% of the female total).[1-4]
In 2013, there were 3,241 new cases of thyroid cancer in the UK: 880 (27%) in males and 2,361 (73%) in females, giving a male:female ratio of around 4:10.[1-4] The 
shows that there are 3 new thyroid cancer cases for every 100,000 males in the UK, and 7 for every 100,000 females.
Thyroid cancer is one of the few cancers which can occur in both sexes but is more common in females than males. This is at least partly due to sex differences in exposure to risk factors.[5]
For females, the European (AS rates) are significantly higher in England compared with Wales and Northern Ireland, with no differences between the other constituent countries of the UK. For males, there are no significant differences in rates between the UK countries.[1-4]
Thyroid Cancer (C73), Number of New Cases, Crude and European Age-Standardised (AS) Incidence Rates per 100,000 Population, UK, 2013
| England | Wales | Scotland | Northern Ireland | UK | ||
| Male | Cases | 745 | 43 | 74 | 18 | 880 |
| Crude Rate | 2.8 | 2.8 | 2.9 | 2.0 | 2.8 | |
| AS Rate | 3.1 | 2.9 | 3.0 | 2.3 | 3.0 | |
| AS Rate - 95% LCL | 2.9 | 2.0 | 2.3 | 1.2 | 2.8 | |
| AS Rate - 95% UCL | 3.3 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.3 | 3.2 | |
| Female | Cases | 2,046 | 78 | 188 | 49 | 2,361 |
| Crude Rate | 7.5 | 5.0 | 6.9 | 5.3 | 7.2 | |
| AS Rate | 7.7 | 5.1 | 6.9 | 5.6 | 7.4 | |
| AS Rate - 95% LCL | 7.4 | 3.9 | 5.9 | 4.0 | 7.1 | |
| AS Rate - 95% UCL | 8.0 | 6.2 | 7.8 | 7.1 | 7.7 | |
| Persons | Cases | 2,791 | 121 | 262 | 67 | 3,241 |
| Crude Rate | 5.2 | 3.9 | 4.9 | 3.7 | 5.1 | |
| AS Rate | 5.4 | 4.0 | 5.0 | 4.0 | 5.3 | |
| AS Rate - 95% LCL | 5.2 | 3.3 | 4.4 | 3.1 | 5.1 | |
| AS Rate - 95% UCL | 5.6 | 4.7 | 5.6 | 5.0 | 5.5 |
95% LCL and 95% UCL are the 95% lower and upper around the
ASR calculated with ESP2013. Not comparable with ASRs calculated with ESP1976.
Thyroid cancer incidence rates throughout England vary moderately between the former cancer networks, with the highest rates in parts of the West Midlands, Thames Valley and Yorkshire, and the lowest in parts of the South and parts of the North-East.[5]
References
- Data were provided by the Office for National Statistics on request, July 2015. Similar data can be found here: http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/vsob1/cancer-statistics-registrations--england--series-mb1-/index.html.
- Data were provided by ISD Scotland on request, April 2015. Similar data can be found here: http://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Cancer/Publications/index.asp.
- Data were provided by the Welsh Cancer Intelligence and Surveillance Unit on request, February 2015. Similar data can be found here: http://www.wales.nhs.uk/sites3/page.cfm?orgid=242&pid=59080.
- Data were provided by the Northern Ireland Cancer Registry on request, March 2015. Similar data can be found here: http://www.qub.ac.uk/research-centres/nicr/.
- Oxford Cancer Intelligence Unit. Profile of Head and Neck Cancers in England: Incidence, Mortality and Survival. 2010.
