THYROID CANCER
More than 80% of all endocrine cancers diagnosed in the United States are appendage carcinoma. It is more common in women than in men. It haw become in childhood, but is typically seen in grouping between ages 20 and 40.
Thyroid cancer is a disease in which cancerous (malignant) cells develop in endocrine gland tissue. The endocrine is a small, butterfly-shaped gland that produces hormones that regulate metabolism and affect embody temperature, forcefulness level, and heart rate. It is located just below the Adam's apple at the front of the throat and wraps around the windpipe (trachea).
Healthy function of the endocrine gland is dependent on the nutrient iodine, which is present in seafood, seaweed, and iodized salt. When the endocrine produces too much catecholamine (called hyperthyroidism), nervousness, unrestrained sweating, tremor, and weight loss can occur. When the endocrine produces too little catecholamine (called hypothyroidism), fatigue, depression, weight gain, and sleepiness haw occur.
Sometimes this orderly impact goes wrong. New cells modify when the embody does not need them, and old cells do not die when they should. These extra cells crapper modify a mass of tissue titled a growth or tumor. Growths on the endocrine are usually titled nodules.
Thyroid nodules crapper be harmless or malignant:
Benign nodules are not cancer. Cells from harmless nodules do not distribute to other parts of the body. They are usually not a threat to life. Most endocrine nodules (more than 90 percent) are benign.
Malignant nodules are cancer. They are mostly more earnest and may sometimes be life threatening. person cells crapper invade and damage nearby tissues and organs. Also, cancer cells crapper break absent from a malignant nodule and enter the bloodstream or the lymphatic system. That is how cancer spreads from the example cancer (primary tumor) to modify new tumors in other organs. The distribute of cancer is titled metastasis.
RISK FACTORS
Patients considered to be low risk by the age, metastases, extent, and size risk criteria include women junior than 50 years and men junior than 40 years without evidence of distant metastases. Also included in the low-risk group are older patients with direct tumors inferior than 5 cm and papillary cancer without evidence of gross extrathyroid invasion. Using these criteria, a retrospective study of patients showed that the 20-year survival rate is more than 95% for low-risk patients and 50% for high-risk patients.
PROGNOSIS
The prognosis for differentiated carcinoma (papillary or follicular) is better for patients younger than 40 years without spreading of the tumor beyond the thyroid. Age appears to be the single most important prognostic factor. An elevated serum thyroglobulin level correlates strongly with continual tumor when found in patients with differentiated endocrine cancer during postoperative evaluations .