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Background: Over the last three decades the incidence of thyroid cancer (TC) has increased in many regions of the world, however little is known about TC incidence and trends in Algeria., Material and Methods: Using data from the Oran cancer registry (OCR) we assessed TC incidence and trends in Oran for the period 1996-2013 with the historical data method. The incidence curves were unstable and did not show any clear trend. Therefore, we actively collected data on TC for the period 1996-2013 using the multisource approach and the independent case ascertainment method., Results: Analysis of actively collected and validated data showed a significant increase in the incidence of TC. We compared the two databases to identify differences. There were 558 TC cases during the period 1996-2013 in the OCR, while our active data collection enabled us to find 1,391 TC cases during the same period. The completeness rate in the OCR was 40.1%. These differences were due to our approach that consisted in the inclusion of a greater number of health facilities and laboratories (44 versus 23 in the OCR), and the active data collection in the nuclear medicine facility of the University Hospital of Tlemcen that we undertook., Conclusions: The application of the recommendations of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) to enhance data completeness and quality, and an active collection of TC data in the nuclear medicine facility of the University Hospital of Tlemcen should make the OCR an essential tool for decision-making in public health and for directing health policy towards health priorities., (Copyright © 2023 Société Française du Cancer. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

Over the last three decades, the incidence of thyroid cancer has increased worldwide. The reasons for this increase remain controversial. In Algeria, however, to date, information on thyroid cancer has been limited to a hospital-based case series. We analyzed data from a population-based cohort study in Oran District, Algeria, to describe demographic and clinicopathological characteristics of patients diagnosed with thyroid cancer between 1993 and 2013. Medical records and pathology reports of thyroid cancer patients who had surgery were reviewed. Changes in demographic and clinicopathological features over the 21-year period are described. During the study period, thyroid cancer was diagnosed in 1248 women (86.5%, mean age 43.7 ± 15.2 years) and 195 men (23.4%, mean age 48.1 ± 15.9 years). Most cases (83.1% for women and 69.8% for men) sought a diagnosis following a self-neck check. The most common histologic types were papillary (58.3%), follicular (29.7%), anaplastic (4.1%), and medullary (0.8%) carcinomas. The incidence of papillary carcinomas significantly increased ( p < 0.001) while the incidence of other histologic types significantly decreased over time. Tumor size overall significantly decreased ( p < 0.001) while the frequency of small (≤20 mm) and larger (>20 mm) carcinomas significantly increased ( p < 0.05). The frequency of thyroid cancers with capsular effractions and angioinvasions also decreased over time. Thyroid cancer incidence in Algeria has increased substantially in line with international trends with changes in clinical practice being a possible contributing factor. However, the increasing papillary-to-follicular cancer ratio may be due to changes in iodine nutrition status in Algeria. Further research, including exploration of biological and molecular features of thyroid cancer, will enable a better understanding of risk factors and etiopathogenetic mechanisms., Competing Interests: Actual or potential conflicts of interest do not exist., (Copyright © 2020 Houda Boukheris et al.)