Objective To investigate the incidence, characteristic distribution, and trends of thyroid cancer in Xiaoshan district, Hangzhou. Methods The thyroid cancer data were statistically analyzed using the related data of Xiaoshan from 1988 to 2009. Results During the past 20 years, the incidence of thyroid cancer was increased with an upward trend, especially in females. The incidence in females was 23.81/105 in 2009. It took the third place among all female malignancies. The ages of onset of thyroid cancers between the males and females were significantly different. The incidence of thyroid cancer in females aged 45-59 reached the highest one, being 40.26% of all the malignancies; while in males, it was increasing gradually with the age. Conclusion Thyroid cancer is becoming one of the most common malignant neoplasm in Xiaoshan. The prevention and control of the disease will be emphasized in the future.

Immunohistocheraistry and RT-PCR were used to examine the expression of toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) in the kidney of diabetic rats.Compared with normal control group,the expression of TLR4 in diabetes mellitus group was increased ( P ＜ 0.05 ).Compared with diabetes mellitus group,the expression of TLR4 in simvastatin treated group was decreased( P＜0.05 ).The results suggest that TLR4 may play a role in the pathogenesis of diabetic nephropathy.Simvastatin seems to delay the progress of diabetic nephropathy via reducing TLR4 expression.