Types Of Thyroid Cancer

What Causes Thyroid Cancer?

What causes thyroid cancer is something of a mystery. Medical researchers have not been able to determine the reason it occurs. We do know that thyroid cancer is a relatively rare type of cancer, but like all forms of cancer, it can be life-threatening. It usually appears in the form of a lump. The only accurate way to tell whether a thyroid lump is cancerous is by examining a sample of thyroid tissue.

Thyroid cancer incidence The American Cancer Society estimates that thyroid cancer incidence is approximately 45,000 new cases annually in the United States. It it most likely to occur in adults between the ages of 25 and 65. It is more likely to strike women than men. In fact, thyroid cancer incidence in women is approximately three times higher than in their male counterparts. Approximately 2,000 individuals die of thyroid cancer each year in the U.S.

There is a higher incidence of thyroid cancer among people who have received radiation treatment to the head and neck earlier in life, possibly as a remedy for acne.

Are there different types of thyroid cancer? There are 4 different types  of thyroid cancer: 

Papillary This is the most common type of thyroid cancer, accounting for about 70 percent of all thyroid cancer cases. It usually takes the form of an irregular, solid or cystic mass. Papillary thyroid cancer has a high cure rate, and 80-90 percent of patients with this type survive for ten years or more.

Follicular Follicular thyroid cancer accounts for approximately 15 percent of cases, and is therefore the second most common type. It's considered to be more aggressive than the papillary form. Follicular carcinoma often occurs in a slightly older age group than papillary carcinoma and is also less prevalent in children.

Medullary Medullary tumors account for about 5 to 8 percent of thyroid cancer cases. These tumors arise from thyroid hormone producing cells called parafollicular cells or C cells in the thyroid. These C cells make a hormone called calcitonin.

The medullary thyroid cancer type has a much lower cure rate than the papillary and follicular forms. If the disease is confined to the thyroid gland, the patient has a 90 percent chance of living at least ten years.

Anaplastic Anaplastic tumors are the least common but most deadly of all thyroid cancer types, with a very low cure rate. Only about 0.5 to 1.5 percent of all thyroid cancers fall into this category, but only 10 percent of patients survive for three years after diagnosis. Most patients survive less than one year.

Thyroid cancer symptoms Click on thyroid cancer symptoms to see a list of the signs of thyroid cancer.

Thyroid cancer treatment Treatment depends on the form of cancer and the stage it has reached. But four types of thyroid cancer treatment are standard.

Surgery is the most common thyroid cancer treatment. Procedures that may be used include

• Lobectomy: This procedure involves removing the lobe in which cancer is located.
• Near-total thyroidectomy: Involves removing most of the thyroid.
• Total thyroidectomy Removal of the entire thyroid.
• Lymphadenectomy Lymph nodes in the neck where the cancer is located are removed.

See thyroid gland removal surgery for additional information about a thyroidectomy.

Radiation therapy This thyroid cancer treatment uses high-energy x-rays or other types of radiation which kill cancer cells or stop their growth.

Chemotherapy Chemotherapy employs drugs to halt the growth of cancer cells from dividing. Chemotherapy delivery depends on the type and stage of the cancer in question.

Thyroid hormone therapy This type of thyoid cancer treatment removes hormones or blocks their action, which stops cancer cell growth. But since thyroid cancer treatment destroys thyroid cells, the thyroid will probably not be able to make enough thyroid hormone. Therefore, patients must take thyroid hormone replacement pills.

 

 

     

 

 

Additional books and reference works about thyroid cancer: