What is Thyroid cancer?
A thyroid which is shaped like a small butterfly, located at the lower front of the neck. It releases the hormones which direct many functions s like regulate the heartbeat, weight, body temperature and blood pressure.
When cells change or mutate, Thyroid cancer develops. And when the abnormal cells begin multiplying in your thyroid and, once there are enough of them, they form a tumor.
The most treatable forms of cancer is Thyroid Cancer. Most cases of thyroid cancer can be cured with treatment only if caught early.
Types of Thyroid Cancer
- Papillary thyroid cancer: It is also known as mixed papillary or follicular thyroid cancer. It is the common form of thyroid cancer. Follicular cells produce and stores thyroid hormones and it arises from there only. It can occur at any age, but most often it affects people ages 30 to 50.
- Follicular thyroid cancer: It is also known as Hurthle cell thyroid cancer. It also arises from the follicular cells of the thyroid. It affects people ages older than age 50. It is a rare and potentially more aggressive type of thyroid cancer.
3. Medullary thyroid cancer: It is the 3rd most common type of thyroid cancer. It comes from the perifollicular thyroid cells called C cells, which produce the hormone calcitonin. It occurs most commonly without a family history of this cancer. This genetic link is uncommon.
4. Anaplastic thyroid cancer: Anaplastic thyroid cancer is very difficult to treat. Anaplastic thyroid cancer is very rare and grows rapidly. It typically occurs in adults age 60 and older.
5. Thyroid lymphoma: It is the rarest form of thyroid cancer and grows very fast. Thyroid Lymphoma begins in the immune system cells. Basically, it occurs to people older than 65.
Thyroid Cancer Risk Factors
Following factors may increase the risk of thyroid cancer:
- Sex factor: It often occurs in women rather than men.
- Genetic Syndromes: Many times it depends on genes and family history.
- Low iodine diet: It occurs because of low iodine too.
- Race: It develops more often to Asian people. This disease can affect any people but more likely it develops in Asian or White people.
- Breast Cancer: A survivor of breast cancer have a higher risk of thyroid cancer.
What are the symptoms of Thyroid Cancer?
- A lump that can be felt on your neck, sometimes which increases quickly.
- Swallowing feels in the neck.
- Voice change including hoarseness.
- Pain in your throat, neck and sometimes in the ear.
- Breathing issue.
- Swollen lymph nodes.
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How can it be diagnosed?
Following Tests and procedures are used to diagnose thyroid cancer:
- Family History: family history of the patient is also responsible for the Thyroid cancer. The doctor will check if there any of the family members had a thyroid cancer.
- Old Medical History: will diagnose the old reports of the patient.
- TRH (Thyroid Releasing Hormone)
- TSH (Thyroid-stimulating Hormone)
- T3 (Triiodothyronine)
- T4 (Thyroxine)
- CT scan: 3-dimensional picture of the inside body using x-rays taken from different angles. When it combines and we get picture details, from there we can saw a cross-sectional view that shows any abnormalities or tumors.
- X-ray: chest x-ray helps doctors to examine if cancer has spread to the lungs.
- Biopsy: Removal of a small amount of tissue for examination under a microscope is known as a biopsy. It definite diagnosis. There are 2 types of biopsy:
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- Fine needle aspiration: Usually performed in a doctor’s clinic. It is a very important diagnostic step
- Surgical biopsy: Usually done under general anesthesia. It also requires a hospital stay.
Thyroid Cancer Stages
- In stage IVA, cancer is found in the thyroid and may have spread to lymph nodes.
- In stage IVB, cancer has spread to tissue just outside the thyroid and may have spread to lymph nodes.
- In stage IVC, cancer has spread to other parts of the body, such as the lungs and bones, and may have spread to lymph nodes.Papillary and Follicular Thyroid Cancer in Patients Younger than 45 Years of Age:Stage I Papillary and FollicularIn stage I papillary and follicular thyroid cancer, the tumor is any size, may be in the thyroid, or may have spread to nearby tissues and lymph nodes. Cancer has not spread to other parts of the body.Stage II Papillary and FollicularIn stage II papillary and follicular thyroid cancer, the tumor is any size and cancer has spread from the thyroid to other parts of the body, such as the lungs or bone, and may have spread to lymph nodes.Papillary and Follicular Thyroid Cancer in Patients Older than 45 Years of Age:Stage 1 Papillary and FollicularIn stage I papillary and follicular thyroid cancer, cancer is found only in the thyroid and the tumor is 2 centimeters or smaller.Stage II Papillary and FollicularIn stage II papillary and follicular thyroid cancer, cancer is only in the thyroid and the tumor is larger than 2 centimeters but not larger than 4 centimeters.Stage III Papillary and FollicularIn stage III papillary and follicular thyroid cancer, either of the following is found:
- The tumor is larger than 4 centimeters and only in the thyroid or the tumor is any size and cancer has spread to tissues just outside the thyroid, but not to lymph nodes; or
- The tumor is any size and cancer may have spread to tissues just outside the thyroid and has spread to lymph nodes near the trachea or the larynx (voice box).
Stage IV Papillary and Follicular
Stage IV papillary and follicular thyroid cancer is divided into stages IVA, IVB, and IVC.
- In stage IVA, either of the following is found:
- The tumor is any size and cancer has spread outside the thyroid to tissues under the skin, the trachea, the esophagus, the larynx (voice box), and/or the recurrent laryngeal nerve (a nerve with two branches that go to the larynx); cancer may have spread to nearby lymph nodes; or
- The tumor is any size and cancer may have spread to tissues just outside the thyroid. Cancer has spread to lymph nodes on one or both sides of the neck or between the lungs.
- In stage IVB, cancer has spread to tissue in front of the spinal column or has surrounded the carotid artery or the blood vessels in the area between the lungs; cancer may have spread to lymph nodes.
- In stage IVC, the tumor is any size and cancer has spread to other parts of the body, such as the lungs and bones, and may have spread to lymph nodes.
Medullary Thyroid Cancer
Stage 0 Medullary
Stage 0 medullary thyroid cancer is found only with a special screening test. No tumor can be found in the thyroid.
Stage I Medullary
Stage I medullary thyroid cancer is found only in the thyroid and is 2 centimeters or smaller.
Stage II Medullary
In stage II medullary thyroid cancer, either of the following is found:
- The tumor is larger than 2 centimeters and only in the thyroid; or
- The tumor is any size and has spread to tissues just outside the thyroid, but not to lymph nodes.
Stage III Medullary
In stage III medullary thyroid cancer, the tumor is any size, has spread to lymph nodes near the trachea and the larynx (voice box), and may have spread to tissues just outside the thyroid.
Stage IV Medullary
Stage IV medullary thyroid cancer is divided into stages IVA, IVB, and IVC.
- In stage IVA, either of the following is found:
- The tumor is any size and cancer has spread outside the thyroid to tissues under the skin, the trachea, the esophagus, the larynx (voice box), and/or the recurrent laryngeal nerve (a nerve with 2 branches that go to the larynx); cancer may have spread to lymph nodes near the trachea or the larynx; or
- The tumor is any size and cancer may have spread to tissues just outside the thyroid. Cancer has spread to lymph nodes on one or both sides of the neck or between the lungs.
- In stage IVB, cancer has spread to tissue in front of the spinal column or has surrounded the carotid artery or the blood vessels in the area between the lungs. Cancer may have spread to lymph nodes.
- In stage IVC, the tumor is any size and cancer has spread to other parts of the body, such as the lungs and bones, and may have spread to lymph nodes.
Anaplastic
Anaplastic thyroid cancer grows quickly and has usually spread within the neck when it is found. Stage IV anaplastic thyroid cancer is divided into stages IVA, IVB, and IVC.
What are treatment options for Thyroid Cancer?
It depends on the stage and type of thyroid cancer, overall health, and preferences. 90% of thyroid cancer cases are curable.
Surgery: although surgery carries a risk of bleeding and infection but in most cases people goes through surgery to remove the thyroid. There is a risk of damage of nerves connected to vocal cords. Following operations treats thyroid cancer:
- Thyroidectomy: It helps to remove thyroid. Doctors suggested to remove the entire thyroid in order to treat thyroid cancer. Doctor decided it on the bases of neck to access the thyroid. Sometimes doctors refer to leaves small rims of thyroid tissue around the parathyroid glands to reduce the risk of parathyroid damage.
- Removing lymph nodes in the neck:Surgeon may also remove enlarged lymph nodes from your neck while removing the thyroid and test them for cancer cells.
- Thyroid lobectomy: It is a process of removing a portion of the thyroid. Many cases where the thyroid cancer is very small, surgeon may recommend removing only one side (lobe) of the thyroid.
Radioactive iodine
Radioactive iodine treatment uses large radioactive doses of iodine. It is used to destroy any remaining healthy thyroid tissue even after thyroidectomy. It also removes the microscopic areas of thyroid cancer that wasn’t removed during surgery.
Side effects may include:
- Nausea
- Dry mouth
- Dry eyes
- Altered sense of taste or smell
- Fatigue
External radiation therapy: In this treatment you have to lie still on a table while a machine moves around you. This process can take 2 minutes to 5 days. The high-energy beams, such as X-rays and protons aims at precise points on your body.
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is a treatment that kills cancer cells with the help of drugs. Chemotherapy is typically given as an infusion through a vein so it travels throughout your body. It kills growing cells including cancer cells. Chemotherapy is very rarely used in the treatment of thyroid cancer.
After treatment: Reconstruction and Rehabilitation
Healing from Surgery
Most people who have thyroid cancer surgery heals without any problems. These people go home within 4-to-6 days. Few patients may have a slower recovery and need to wait for a little more around 10-12 days.
A surgeon will give you guidance on how to take care of yourself, including your surgery, bathing, driving, and sexual activity. They will provide you information about:
- Diet
- Exercise
- Pain medicine
- Bowel movements
After Treatment, you will be given a Daily Goals Checklist. Use that checklist to understand how you are doing every day.
Follow-up appointments: Doctor will provide you a file which will help you to remind your all appointment dates. After completion of your treatment follow-up care is very essential. Routine checkups are very helpful to check changes in your health, and it also helps to check if cancer comes back. It can be treated again if it can be detected.
Follow-up appointments maybe every 3−6 months for the first couple of years and 6−12 months for the following 3 years.
Thyroid Cancer Statistics: Thyroid cancer usually occurs in women. The relative increase in thyroid cancer incidence in women over the study period of up to 10 years was 121% in age group < 30 years, 107% in age group of 30-44, 50% in 45-59, 15% in 60-74 and 27% in ≥75. … It postulate that such a dramatic rise in incidence of thyroid cancer in India can be attributed to over-diagnosis.
We had recently reported that over-diagnosis could be the reason for the doubling of thyroid cancer incidence in Kerala state in Southern India. We aimed to investigate the trends in thyroid cancer incidence in India by region, gender and age group.
Methods: We used data from the Population Based Cancer Registries (PBCRs) compiled by the National Cancer Registry Program (NCRP) of the Government of India, to study the epidemiological trends of thyroid cancer. We analyzed data from 14 regions which reported data from 2004/05 to 2013/14. We age standardized the population to WHO’s 2000 World Standard Population and report age-adjusted incidence rates per 100,000 persons.
Results: Over a decade, the incidence rate of thyroid cancer in India in women increased from 2.4 (95% confidence interval (CI) 2.2-2.7) to 3.9 (95%CI 3.6-4.2) and in men from 0.9 (95%CI 0.8-1.1) to 1.3 (95%CI 1.2-1.5), a relative increase of 62% and 48% respectively.
Why choose Prolife Cancer Centre for your thyroid cancer care?
At Prolife Cancer Center, your thyroid cancer treatment is personalized to give the best results, while concentrating on your quality of life. We offer minimally invasive laparoscopic surgeries that provide successful treatment with less impact on you.
Specialized Thyroid Cancer Treatments
Prolife offers unique options. Our globally renowned team of physicians shows your treatment for the most benefit while reducing the impact on your body.
Dr. Sumit Shah is expertise in treating thyroid cancer. We offer the best Laparoscopic surgery treatment for thyroid cancer also chemotherapy and targeted therapy options.
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