Carcinoma of the thyroid in Ga-Rankuwa Hospital, Pretoria

Objective: To determine the pattern of thyroid carcinoma diagnosed at Ga-Ra nkuwa Hospital over a ten-year period. Design: A retrospective study. Settings: Ga-Rankuwa Hospital; a teaching hospital for the Medical Universi ty of Southern Africa. Subjects: Seventy one patients who were diagnosed as having carcinoma of th e thyroid during the study period. Results: The male to female ratio was 1:4,5. Papillary and follicular carci noma constituted 42.3 % and 40.9 %, respectively. Anaplastic carcinoma cons tituted seven per cent and three cases of medullary carcinoma were seen. Th ere were two cases of Hurthle cell carcinoma and two cases showed a mixed h istology. Conclusion: All the histological subtypes of thyroid carcinoma do occur in our patient population.