The Kingdom faces a remarkable increase in the incidence of differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC), observed a lecturer at an international symposium that opened in Riyadh Monday.
More than 1,000 delegates from the Kingdom and GCC countries attended the opening of the three-day International Saudi Society of Endocrinology and Metabolism Conference.
Dr. Ali Al-Zahrani, consultant endocrinologist and head of the Molecular Endocrinology Department at the King Faisal Specialist Hospital (KFSH) in Riyadh, pointed out that DTC is the fourth most common cancer and the second most common in women, preceded only by breast cancer. He said that the majority of the cases are referred to KFSH and Research Center in Riyadh.
“We have more than 4,500 cases in our registry,” he said.
Speaking on behalf of the organizing committee of the conference, Bassam S. Bin-Abbas said: “The program is set up to update the health care professionals on endocrinology and diabetes and to promote the communication and networking among attendees and institutions at local, regional and international levels.”
The Saudi Society of Endocrinology and Metabolism (SSEM) sponsored the conference. It is a scientific health society in the field of endocrinology, diabetes and metabolism, with its services covering all provinces in the Kingdom.
The society was established under the umbrella of the Saudi Council for Health Specialties (SCHS) in 2009 to provide educational and other professional services to health professionals, the public and authorities related to the field.
Cases of thyroid cancer on the rise
