Objective: To comprehensively describe the clinical epidemiology, clinical manifestations and selected paraclinical characteristics of patients with thyroid cancer treated at Cho Ray Hospital in 2024-2025.
Subjects and methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study with analytical comparisons was conducted among 282 adults with thyroid nodules who underwent ultrasound and had postoperative/biopsy histopathology between October 1, 2024 and October 31, 2025. All 282 participants were used to determine malignancy frequency and selected associations; 217 histologically confirmed thyroid cancer cases were analyzed in detail for medical history, symptoms, physical examination, ultrasound findings, thyroid hormones, Bethesda classification, TNM stage and histopathology.
Results: Thyroid cancer was confirmed in 217/282 patients (76.95%). Malignancy did not differ significantly by sex or age group, whereas urban residence was associated with higher odds of thyroid cancer than rural residence (OR = 1.93; 95% CI: 1.10-3.37; p = 0.021). Among 217 cancer cases, 63.13% were detected during routine health examinations. Neck mass/lymph node, dysphagia sensation, neck pain/heaviness and dyspnea occurred in 18.89%, 13.82%, 10.14% and 9.68%, respectively. Only 27.19% had a palpable thyroid nodule. Nodules < 20 mm accounted for 77.42%; mean tumor size was larger in symptomatic than asymptomatic patients (21.05 ± 12.5 vs 12.6 ± 9.75 mm; p < 0.01). Bethesda V-VI accounted for 73.27%. Stage I and II represented 78.34% and 21.20%, and papillary carcinoma accounted for 98.16%.
Conclusion: Thyroid cancer was frequent among surgically/biopsy-selected patients with thyroid nodules at Cho Ray Hospital. Most cancers were detected at an early stage, and many patients had few or no clinical symptoms, underscoring the role of ultrasound, cytology and histopathology in early detection and stratification.