Thyroid cancer (cancer of the thyroid gland) comes in four variations: papillary, follicular, medullary and anaplastic. Papillary and medullary are slow-growing and sometimes recur, but respond well to treatment in patients under middle age.
Medullary also responds well to treatment, if it has not already spread. Anaplastic developes rapidly and reacts badly to therapy. The spread of these kinds of cancer is not uniform throughout the world, but is roughly: 78% for papillary; 17% for follicular; 4% for medullary and 1% for anaplastic.
Usually, the first symptom of difficulty is the growth of a nodule or nodules in the neck near the thyroid gland. However, only 5% of these are malignant. Occasionally an early warning sign is discomfort or even pain; occasionally, the lymph nodes swell, the voice changes or there is hypo- or hyper- thyroidism.
Discovery usually takes place after a nodule is found during a (general) physical examination. The patient is then sent to an endocrinologist or a thyroidologist, who will arrange an ultrasound test or a biopsy. Using a fine needle enough cells can be gathered to perform an accurate test on the exact state of the thyroid and whether the nodules are malignant.
Papillary thyroid cancer more often occurs in women and frequently in the 30-40 year old age group and is frequently characterized by bulging eyes. If the growth is less than 1cm in size a partial thyroidectomy or hemithyroidectomy would probably be recommended.
Greater than 1cm and a full thyroidectomy is preferred. Some surgeons prefer a full thyroidectomy anyway because the cancer cannot recur then.
Follicular thyroid cancer is more common in women over 50 years of age. Therapy is most often full thyroidectomy as the threat of recurrence of this aggressive kind is too great for partial surgery.
Medullary thyroid cancer (MTC) begins in the cells that produce the hormone calcitonin. Increased degrees of calcitonin in the blood are a reasonable indication of MTC, although these increased levels of calcitonin are almost certainly not harmful in themselves.
Changes in the DNA concerned in cell growth and development are responsible for nearly all cases of hereditary or familial medullary thyroid carcinoma. Hereditary medullary thyroid cancer is inherited as a 50/50 probability from each affected parent. DNA analysis makes it feasible to identify children who carry the mutant gene.
Surgical removal of the thyroid in children who carry the mutant gene is effective if the whole thyroid gland is removed at an early age, before there is a spread of the tumor. Hereditary MTC accounts for around 25% of all cases of MTC. The other 75% of cases are known as sporadic MTC and usually happen in older patients.
Often the disease is well advanced in these cases as there has been no screening as in hereditary MTC. The first sign is often diarhoea. The chances of surviving MTC appear to be linked to the rate at which the patient's post operative calcitonin levels double.
Anaplastic thyroid cancer is extremely aggressive and chances of survival are virtually nil. It is resistant to all known cancer medicines and invades nearby tissue early.
Medullary also responds well to treatment, if it has not already spread. Anaplastic developes rapidly and reacts badly to therapy. The spread of these kinds of cancer is not uniform throughout the world, but is roughly: 78% for papillary; 17% for follicular; 4% for medullary and 1% for anaplastic.
Usually, the first symptom of difficulty is the growth of a nodule or nodules in the neck near the thyroid gland. However, only 5% of these are malignant. Occasionally an early warning sign is discomfort or even pain; occasionally, the lymph nodes swell, the voice changes or there is hypo- or hyper- thyroidism.
Discovery usually takes place after a nodule is found during a (general) physical examination. The patient is then sent to an endocrinologist or a thyroidologist, who will arrange an ultrasound test or a biopsy. Using a fine needle enough cells can be gathered to perform an accurate test on the exact state of the thyroid and whether the nodules are malignant.
Papillary thyroid cancer more often occurs in women and frequently in the 30-40 year old age group and is frequently characterized by bulging eyes. If the growth is less than 1cm in size a partial thyroidectomy or hemithyroidectomy would probably be recommended.
Greater than 1cm and a full thyroidectomy is preferred. Some surgeons prefer a full thyroidectomy anyway because the cancer cannot recur then.
Follicular thyroid cancer is more common in women over 50 years of age. Therapy is most often full thyroidectomy as the threat of recurrence of this aggressive kind is too great for partial surgery.
Medullary thyroid cancer (MTC) begins in the cells that produce the hormone calcitonin. Increased degrees of calcitonin in the blood are a reasonable indication of MTC, although these increased levels of calcitonin are almost certainly not harmful in themselves.
Changes in the DNA concerned in cell growth and development are responsible for nearly all cases of hereditary or familial medullary thyroid carcinoma. Hereditary medullary thyroid cancer is inherited as a 50/50 probability from each affected parent. DNA analysis makes it feasible to identify children who carry the mutant gene.
Surgical removal of the thyroid in children who carry the mutant gene is effective if the whole thyroid gland is removed at an early age, before there is a spread of the tumor. Hereditary MTC accounts for around 25% of all cases of MTC. The other 75% of cases are known as sporadic MTC and usually happen in older patients.
Often the disease is well advanced in these cases as there has been no screening as in hereditary MTC. The first sign is often diarhoea. The chances of surviving MTC appear to be linked to the rate at which the patient's post operative calcitonin levels double.
Anaplastic thyroid cancer is extremely aggressive and chances of survival are virtually nil. It is resistant to all known cancer medicines and invades nearby tissue early.
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