Thyroid cancer is more likely to be detected incidentally on imaging in private hospital patients.

BACKGROUND: The incidence of well-differentiated thyroid cancer (WDTC) is increasing. Patients with higher socioeconomic status have higher rates of WDTC, possibly due to increased imaging and overdiagnosis. We compared methods of WDTC diagnosis in patients treated at a public and an adjacent private university hospital.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Patients with WDTC at the two hospitals between 2004 and 2010 were included. Patients were categorized into having their WDTC discovered on physical examination or on unrelated imaging. Demographic and pathologic data were collected. T-test was used for quantitative variables, and chi-squared test was used for categorical values. Binomial logistic regression was used to asses for confounding.

RESULTS: Among 473 patients, 402 (85%) were from the university hospital, and 71 (15%) were from the public hospital. Patients from the university hospital were older (mean age: 49 versus 44, P = 0.02) and had a different racial composition compared to those from the public hospital. The patients at the public hospital had larger tumors (23 versus 18 mm, P = 0.04). Patients from the university hospital were more likely to have WDTC detected by imaging than patients in the public hospital (46% versus 28%, P < 0.01) on univariate analysis.

CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates that patients with WDTC treated at a university hospital are more likely to have their tumor detected on unrelated imaging than those treated at a public hospital. These data may support the hypothesis that patients with improved insurance are more likely to have WDTC detected by imaging.