Medullary Thyroid Cancer Essay

More than 50% of all patients show signs of distant metastases at the time of diagnosis1. Prognosis remains abysmal, as 90% of patients die within 6 months of diagnosis due to distant metastases or local invasion8. Patients younger than 60 year of age with involvement limited only to the thyroid have a better outlook than older individuals with signs of metastasis5. Ultimately, ATC accounts for more than 50% of all thyroid malignancy-related deaths1.

The symptoms are initially asymptomatic they begin to appear such as swelling in the neck, swelling in the lymph nodes and pain, hoarseness and difficulty to breath. The causes are exposure to high levels of radiation, inherited genetic syndromes. There are four types of thyroid cancer: papillary, medullary thyroid cancer, anaplastic thyroid cancer, thyroid lymphoma. According to cancercenters Papillary carcinoma is the most common type of thyroid cancer, accounting for approximately 80% of cases. Papillary carcinomas are slow growing, differentiated cancers that develop from follicular cells and can develop in one or both lobes of the thyroid gland. This type of cancer may spread to nearby lymph nodes in the neck, but it is generally treatable with a good prognosis (outlook for survival). Follicular carcinoma is the second most common type of thyroid cancer, and accounts for approximately one out of 10 cases. It is found more frequently in countries with an inadequate dietary intake of iodine. Follicular carcinoma is also a differentiated form of thyroid cancer. In most cases, it is associated with a good prognosis, although it is somewhat more aggressive than papillary cancer. Follicular carcinomas do not usually spread to nearby lymph nodes, but they are more likely than papillary cancers to spread to other organs, like the lungs or the bones. Hurtle cell carcinoma, also known as oxyphil cell carcinoma, is a subtype of follicular carcinoma, and accounts for approximately 3 percent of all thyroid cancers. Medullary thyroid carcinoma develops from C cells in the thyroid gland, and is more aggressive and less differentiated than papillary or follicular cancers. Approximately 4 percent of all thyroid cancers will be of the medullary subtype. These cancers are more likely to spread to lymph nodes and other organs, compared with the more differentiated thyroid cancers. They also frequently

Medullary Thyroid cancer is the third most common type to get. This cancer is not associated with radiation exposure. This type of cancer is known to spread to distant organs such as the liver, bone, and brain. This type of thyroid cancer is most common in females rather than

Follicular tumors, on the other hand, grow only on one side of the gland. These tumors develop in the hormone-producing cells and account for 30% - 50% of all thyroid cancers (Thackery 1057). Medullary thyroid tumors account for 5% - 7% of all thyroid cancers, and are usually uncommon. Like papillary tumors, they grow on one or both sides of the gland. Anaplastic tumors, though extremely rare, develop on either side of the thyroid gland and spread rapidly to other parts of the body. It account for only 2% of all thyroid cancers but is the fastest growing, and most aggressive thyroid cancer type (Thackery 1057).

What is thyroid cancer, and is it dangerous? To answer this one must first know the function of the thyroid. A thyroid is a gland at the front of the neck right under the sound box, which secretes hormones that affect heart rate, body temperature and weight. It also makes calcitonin, which keeps a healthy level of calcium in the body. Thyroids are made up of tissue, when the cells that make up the tissue of the thyroid gland start to form unnecessarily, and cells that are damaged are not killed, tumors called nodules form on the thyroid thus resulting in cancer. Around 45,000 women and 15,000 men were diagnosed with thyroid cancer in 2013 alone, most of whom were above the age of 45. However getting thyroid cancer is not the worst thing in the world as it is treatable but there should still be more investment and research put into this disease so that less risky methods of taking out the cancer can be found.

Imagine having the disease, cancer. Or, feeling like a social outcast who carries around an oxygen tank to stay alive. Imagine your world was pretty much pointless until finding someone equally sick and equally corky as yourself. This is how 16 year old, Thyroid Cancer patient, Hazel Grace Lancaster lived her life. When her mother see how depressed Hazel is she forces her daughter to attend a cancer support group. She goes through the motions and shares that her lungs are weak but Gus Waters ,Osteosarcoma patient, is not interested in learning about her sickness, but is interesting in her. ¨What? I asked. Nothing, he said. Why are you looking at me like that? Augustus half smiled. ¨Because you're beautiful.¨ (Green 16)

Thyroid cancer is a common endocrine malignant tumor (1). Papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) is the most common of the well-differentiated carcinomas (85%) (2) and is characterized by distinctive nuclear features.

Thyroid nodules are lumps in the thyroid often called adenomas. These adenomas are quite common affecting around seven percent our countries population. These lumps on the thyroid can become very active and thus produce a large amount of thyroid hormone. In some cases hyperthyroidism is brought on by consuming too much medication that treats an underactive thyroid.

They described interesting study report that TBSRTC (The Bethesda system for reporting thyroid cytopathology) for FNAC of thyroid is a definitive diagnostic test to triage patients on the requirement of surgery and to differentiate malignant from non-malignant lesions in children and youth. They conducted a prospective study of 18 months. FNAC was performed on 106 children, mean age was 18.9 years. Majority were female in 20-24 years age group out of 106 patients distribution o f diagnostic category as I-4.7%, II-85.8%, II-4.7%, IV-1.9%, V-0.9%, and VI-2%.

At this time, it is not clear how much diagnostic radiation is contributing to the increase in thyroid cancer cases. It is possible that the increase in the diagnosis of thyroid cancer can be attributed to a greater rate of detection by use of ultrasonography and fine needle aspiration3. The thyroid tissue itself is among the tissues that are less sensitive to radiation, however, thyroid cancer is still such a concern because the thyroid is so superficial in the body1 (77). “Even doses as small as 50–100 mGy have been associated with an increased risk of thyroid malignancy in children, with a

Prior to the physical examination of the thyroid gland the examiner should as about any recent infections or tenderness in the neck (Jarvis, 2015). Ask if there have been any lumps or swelling noted in the neck (Jarvis, 2015). You would ask if there has been a history of thyroid problems and if so how has it been treated in the past (Jarvis, 2015). And lastly ask if there has ever been any surgical procedures or irradiation of the neck or neck region (Jarvis,

Growth and tumors develop easily in the thyroid. A thyroid has 2 lobes, each side of the tube. You could also start developing blood clots, and other developments. Papillary cancer is a popularly thyroid cancer, and also has lots of symptoms. Some symptoms are coughing, hoarseness, pain in throat, problem swallowing, and swollen lymph nodes.

In the beginning, thyroid cancer doesn’t have many remarkable symptoms, but as the disease matures the following symptoms are possible:

It has been 2 days and Sadie is still estimated to live for 4 more days. That is very hard to think about. Dad hasn’t called or came home. I am not too worried about him because what he said about Sadie was rude and disrespectful. Sadie woke up very pale this morning. She got in the car without any clean clothes on. We sprinted back in the house and I pulled out a pair of black Nike sweats, a t-shirt and a teal Nike sweatshirt. I put the straightened blonde wig on. We finally got to the hospital. Debra, The nurse said The tumor is slowly spread. I look up to Mom she is asking the nurse what they could do and “ Why does happen to her, my beautiful young daughter she can’t die.’’ The nurse told her to calm down. “ Today we will just to intense

The differentiation of single benign nodule and malignant one is considered an important goal. Early diagnosis of thyroid cancer avoids unneeded surgery in those complaining of benign nodules and decreases both mortality and morbidity rates of the disease (2).