Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsSymptomsEarly SignsCausesDiagnosisSpreadTreatmentPreventionCopingOutlookNext in Thyroid Cancer GuideWhat Are the Stages of Thyroid Cancer?
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Table of Contents
Symptoms
Early Signs
Causes
Diagnosis
Spread
Treatment
Prevention
Coping
Outlook
Next in Thyroid Cancer Guide
Thyroid cancer is cancer that starts in cells in yourthyroid gland. Most thyroid cancers can be cured if caught before they spread to other body parts.
This article describes thyroid cancer symptoms, causes, diagnosis, spread, and treatment. It also discusses life after thyroid cancer and disease outlook.
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Thyroid Cancer Symptoms
Symptoms of thyroid cancer include the following:
Most common:
Less common:
Can You Show Early Signs of Thyroid Cancer?
It’s possible, though uncommon, to show early signs of thyroid cancer.
Symptoms of Thyroid Cancer
Types of Thyroid CancerSeveraltypes of thyroid cancerexist. Some are more aggressive than others. The three main types of thyroid cancer are differentiated, medullary, and anaplastic, as follows:Differentiated:Includes papillary,follicular, and Hürthle cell thyroid cancerSlow-growing and highly curable.Includes 80% of thyroid cancers (follicular, papillary, and Hürthle cell).Medullary:Includes sporadic MTC and familial MTCHard to find and hard to treatDevelops from the C cells of the thyroid gland, which make calcitonin (a hormone that controlscalciumlevels in your blood)Anaplastic(undifferentiated):Rare and hard to treatOftenmetastasizes(spreads) quickly to your neck and other parts of the bodyCells often don’t resemble normal thyroid cells
Types of Thyroid Cancer
Severaltypes of thyroid cancerexist. Some are more aggressive than others. The three main types of thyroid cancer are differentiated, medullary, and anaplastic, as follows:Differentiated:Includes papillary,follicular, and Hürthle cell thyroid cancerSlow-growing and highly curable.Includes 80% of thyroid cancers (follicular, papillary, and Hürthle cell).Medullary:Includes sporadic MTC and familial MTCHard to find and hard to treatDevelops from the C cells of the thyroid gland, which make calcitonin (a hormone that controlscalciumlevels in your blood)Anaplastic(undifferentiated):Rare and hard to treatOftenmetastasizes(spreads) quickly to your neck and other parts of the bodyCells often don’t resemble normal thyroid cells
Severaltypes of thyroid cancerexist. Some are more aggressive than others. The three main types of thyroid cancer are differentiated, medullary, and anaplastic, as follows:
Differentiated:
Medullary:
Anaplastic(undifferentiated):
What Causes Thyroid Cancer?
Thyroid cancer occurs when the DNA that controls the natural cell growth cycle becomes damaged. The damaged thyroid cells grow out of control and live longer than they should. As they increase in number, the damaged cells gather and form tumors in your thyroid.
As the number of damaged cells grows, thyroid cancer spreads (metastasizes) to other organs.
The exact cause of most thyroid cancers is not known. However, there is evidence that external radiation may cause damage that triggers abnormal cell growth. This can come from the following sources:
While anyone can develop thyroid cancer, having the following risk factors can increase your chances of being diagnosed with the disease:
How Is Thyroid Cancer Diagnosed?
If you find a lump, consult your healthcare provider. Diagnosing thyroid cancer involves the following procedures:
Physical exam:During a physical exam, your healthcare provider will take a complete medical history, including details about your symptoms, risk factors, and other medical conditions. Your physical exam will include attention to your neck and the presence of lumps or enlarged lymph nodes in your neck.
Imaging tests:
Fine needle aspiration biopsy of your thyroid (FNA): Necessary for the diagnosis of thyroid cancer, it involves the extraction of a sample of tissue from the tumor for examination at a lab. However, FNA is not always needed for diagnosis. Sometimes a nodule that is large—greater than 4 centimeters (cm)—can have a negative FNA but still be concerning enough to harbor cancer that surgery is required for definitive diagnosis,
Thyroid Cancer Stages: How It Spreads
Thyroid cancer stagesare used to define if and how much your thyroid cancer has developed and spread. Thyroid cancer can spread through yourlymph systemor your blood.
Thyroid cancer stages are based on these factors:
Stage 1:
Stage 2:
Stage 3:
Stage 4:
Stage 4 anaplastic thyroid cancer:
The stage of your thyroid cancer is set at diagnosis and does not change, even if your tumor changes during treatment.
The time it takes your thyroid cancer to spread depends on the type of thyroid cancer. Differentiated thyroid cancers spread slowly over months or years. Other types of thyroid cancer are usually more aggressive and can spread in a matter of weeks.
Thyroid Cancer vs. Thyroid DiseaseChanges in the production of your thyroid hormone can have different effects. Thyroid cancer is a growth in your thyroid gland. Certain types of thyroid cancer can spread to other parts of your body and cause serious side effects.Thyroid diseaseinvolves a change to your thyroid cells without cancer. These conditions do not spread to other parts of your body. They are not life-threatening.
Thyroid Cancer vs. Thyroid Disease
Changes in the production of your thyroid hormone can have different effects. Thyroid cancer is a growth in your thyroid gland. Certain types of thyroid cancer can spread to other parts of your body and cause serious side effects.Thyroid diseaseinvolves a change to your thyroid cells without cancer. These conditions do not spread to other parts of your body. They are not life-threatening.
Changes in the production of your thyroid hormone can have different effects. Thyroid cancer is a growth in your thyroid gland. Certain types of thyroid cancer can spread to other parts of your body and cause serious side effects.
Thyroid diseaseinvolves a change to your thyroid cells without cancer. These conditions do not spread to other parts of your body. They are not life-threatening.
Thyroid Cancer Treatment
Depending on the stage of your cancer and other factors, including age, type of thyroid cancer, and general health, your healthcare provider may advise one or more of the following treatments:
Targeted therapy:Targeted therapy uses drugs that identify and attack certain cells that support tumor growth.
Thyroid hormone therapy:Thyroid hormone therapy blocks or removes thyroid hormones to stop cancer cells from growing.
Radiation therapy:Radiation therapy involves the use of high-energy X-rays or other radiation to kill cancer cells using external or internal treatments.
Surgery:Surgery is the most common treatment for thyroid cancer involves one of the following procedures:
Side Effects of Thyroid Cancer Treatment
Thyroid cancer treatments affect everyone differently. You may experience the following side effects from the following therapies:
Hormone Therapy
Possible effects of elevated hormone levels:
Possible effects of low hormone levels:
Chemotherapy:
Radioactive iodine therapy:
Radiation therapy:
Surgery:Postsurgical requirement to take lifetime medications to replace thyroid hormones and maintain proper function of your metabolism, digestion, muscle control, bone maintenance, and brain development
Can You Prevent Thyroid Cancer?
15 Ways to Keep Your Thyroid Healthy
Life After Thyroid Cancer
Everyone has a unique experience with thyroid cancer. For most people, treatment provides a cure. For others, thyroid cancer may never go away completely. In either situation, it is normal to worry about recurrence and your future.
Your healthcare provider can help you determine how often you will require office visits and follow-up testing to ensure you remain as healthy as possible after therapy. Many thyroid cancer survivors also benefit from the emotional support available via online or local cancersupport groups.
If your thyroid was damaged or removed during treatment for thyroid cancer, you may have symptoms ofhypothyroidism (underactive thyroid). These symptoms include the following:
Symptoms of Hypothyroidism
Outlook for Thyroid Cancer
The outlook for thyroid cancer is generally positive for most people. However, everyone has a unique experience with thyroid cancer. Factors like the extent of thyroid cancer, its spread to other areas, and how it reacts to treatment affect your outlook.
Your healthcare provider formulates a prognosis based on your disease characteristics to determine your recovery or survival. Your outlook is calculated on the experiences of large groups of people over many years, not individual cases. Despite your prognosis, your experience may differ due to your unique characteristics.
Papillary thyroid cancer five-year relative survival rates:
Follicular thyroid cancer five-year relative survival rates:
Medullary thyroid cancer five-year relative survival rates:
Anaplastic thyroid cancer five-year relative survival rates:
Signs and Symptoms That Thyroid Cancer Is Metastasizing
12 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.American Cancer Society.Treating thyroid cancer.MD Anderson Cancer Center.Can you have thyroid cancer without knowing?American Thyroid Association.Thyroid cancer (papillary and follicular.American Cancer Society.What is thyroid cancer?National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD).Thyroid cancer.National Foundation for Cancer Research.Understanding thyroid cancer: a serious, but highly treatable disease.American Cancer Society.Tests for thyroid cancer.City of Hope.Thyroid cancer stages.National Cancer Institute.Thyroid cancer treatment (PDQ) - patient version.Moffitt Cancer Center:How to cope with side effects of thyroid cancer treatment.American Cancer Society.Thyroid cancer causes, risk factors, and prevention.National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.Hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid).
12 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.American Cancer Society.Treating thyroid cancer.MD Anderson Cancer Center.Can you have thyroid cancer without knowing?American Thyroid Association.Thyroid cancer (papillary and follicular.American Cancer Society.What is thyroid cancer?National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD).Thyroid cancer.National Foundation for Cancer Research.Understanding thyroid cancer: a serious, but highly treatable disease.American Cancer Society.Tests for thyroid cancer.City of Hope.Thyroid cancer stages.National Cancer Institute.Thyroid cancer treatment (PDQ) - patient version.Moffitt Cancer Center:How to cope with side effects of thyroid cancer treatment.American Cancer Society.Thyroid cancer causes, risk factors, and prevention.National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.Hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid).
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
American Cancer Society.Treating thyroid cancer.MD Anderson Cancer Center.Can you have thyroid cancer without knowing?American Thyroid Association.Thyroid cancer (papillary and follicular.American Cancer Society.What is thyroid cancer?National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD).Thyroid cancer.National Foundation for Cancer Research.Understanding thyroid cancer: a serious, but highly treatable disease.American Cancer Society.Tests for thyroid cancer.City of Hope.Thyroid cancer stages.National Cancer Institute.Thyroid cancer treatment (PDQ) - patient version.Moffitt Cancer Center:How to cope with side effects of thyroid cancer treatment.American Cancer Society.Thyroid cancer causes, risk factors, and prevention.National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.Hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid).
American Cancer Society.Treating thyroid cancer.
MD Anderson Cancer Center.Can you have thyroid cancer without knowing?
American Thyroid Association.Thyroid cancer (papillary and follicular.
American Cancer Society.What is thyroid cancer?
National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD).Thyroid cancer.
National Foundation for Cancer Research.Understanding thyroid cancer: a serious, but highly treatable disease.
American Cancer Society.Tests for thyroid cancer.
City of Hope.Thyroid cancer stages.
National Cancer Institute.Thyroid cancer treatment (PDQ) - patient version.
Moffitt Cancer Center:How to cope with side effects of thyroid cancer treatment.
American Cancer Society.Thyroid cancer causes, risk factors, and prevention.
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.Hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid).
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