Impact and Benefits of Early Detection in Thyroid Cancer Diagnosis in Mongolia

The Government of Mongolia has decided to include the entire population in early detection of common diseases based on age, gender, and health risk, starting from May 1, 2022. Our study was based on the lack of research on the current status of early detection of thyroid cancer among Mongolians, including pathological features, tumor stage, and histological results after surgical treatment. This study was conducted using samples from the medical history and hospital information system of cases diagnosed with thyroid cancer from 2014 to 2024 at The National Cancer Center of Mongolia. Our study included of the total 479 cases, 21.7% (n=104) were diagnosed through early detection. There was no statistically significant difference in the mean tumor size between the early detection and active groups (p=0.1) but a statistically significant difference in T stage, N stage and M stage were observed between the two groups (p=0.01). Of the participants in the early detection group, 20.2% had neck disease, while 65.5% of the active group had neck disease. This difference was statistically significant between the two groups (p=0.004). Early detection is important because it increases the chance of treatment before thyroid cancer metastasizes to the lymph nodes and has a positive impact on quality of life.