The Common Endocrine System Malignancy

In the United States, thyroid conditions affect “nearly 30 million Americans, and yet more than half of them remain undiagnosed, “ Dr. Simona Scumpia (2006) warns. The disease is more common than diabetes or heart disease. Thyroid conditions can lead a person to develop other health problems, such as heart disease, high cholesterol, osteoporosis, and depression. Dr. Simona Scumpia, Medical Director of the Austin Thyroid and Endocrinology Center, explains: "Because the symptoms of thyroidism can be associated with commonly occurring conditions, it is extremely important that people who have the symptoms be checked with a test known as a TSH test.” The TSH test, or Thyroid-Stimulating Hormone test, is a simple blood test that measures the thyroid gland's condition.

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.

Seidlin reported on the success of radioactive iodine (I-131) in treating a patient with advanced thyroid cancer. Later, the use of I-131 was expanded to applications such as thyroid gland imaging, hyperthyroidism treatment and quantification of thyroid function. By the 1950s, the clinical use of nuclear medicine had become widespread as researchers increased their understanding of detecting radioactivity and using radionuclides to monitor biochemical processes.” (Dr. Ananya Mandal, MD) With this information, we know that nuclear medicine is successful with multiple cases of diseases. Our technology today has improved on how treatments can be done. Nuclear medicine has improved from the time being. If treating a disease with nuclear medicine back then had been successful, imagine all of the success stories of everyone today who has had the chance of using nuclear medicine. Nowadays, the science and technology has developed so much that it is easy to cure any type of disease when proper guidance is given. If the technology is used properly, the side effects can be reversed. Today, we can easily figure out a way to reverse the effects of what we did to ourselves with all of the equipment, tools, and technology that people

Carcinoid tumors are a subset of neuroendocrine tumors and overall incidence of carcinoids in the United States is estimated at 5.25 cases per 100,000 population. The majority of carcinoid tumors arise within the gastrointestinal tract (58%), with the pulmonary system as the next most common site of origin (27%). The remainder (15%) arises from other or unknown locations1.

Thyroid nodules, or lumps, are very common. They occur in over half of the world's population, but only 5 per cent of them are cancerous. Nodules are referred to as either 'hot' or 'cold,' depending on the amount of radioactive iodine it concentrates, or takes up, when testing for the type of nodule it is.

Follicular Thyroid cancer is the second most common type to get. If you were to get thyroid cancer, It would be most likely that you would get follicular thyroid cancer. It is rare that you would get this cancer due to radiation exposure. This cancer is known to spread to the veins arteries and thyroid gland. This type of cancer is more common in females than males on a 3 to 1 ratio. If you were to get this cancer you’re most likely to be between ages 40 and 60.

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

The doctor can tell more about these if it is required .Medullary thyroid cancer is the third most common type of thyroid cancer. The common medullary thyroid cancer symptoms and treatments as well as medullary thyroid cancer diagnosis and prognosis can be discussed. Characteristics of Medullary Thyroid Cancer: Occurs in 4 clinical settings associated with other endocrine tumors, it is more common in females than males, Regional metastases which spread to neck lymph nodes occurs early in the disease, Spread to distant organs (metastasis) which occurs late and can be to the liver, bone, brain, and adrenal medulla, it is not related with radiation exposure, and mostly originates in the upper central lobe of the thyroid, Poor prognostic factors include mean older than 50 years old, distant spread (metastases), and due to MEN II-B syndrome seen in patients with other endocrine tumors, other residual disease or recurrence can be detected by measuring calcitonin. Medullary carcinoma of the thyroid (MTC) is a distinct thyroid carcinoma that originates in the Para follicular C cells of the thyroid gland. These C cells produce

The pathology I found for this assignment is “Tumor of the Thyroid - Papillary Carcinoma” is the most common type of thyroid cancer, comprising approximately 80% of all primary thyroid malignancies. Benign encapsulated tumor with evidence or follicular epithelial cell differentiation showing growth pattern and cytomorphology different from the surrounding thyroid parenchyma, but lacking features of thyroid papillary carcinoma. Papillary thyroid cancer characteristics: Unencapsulated tumor nodule with ill-defined margins, tumor typically firm and solid, may present as nodal enlargement, commonly metastasizes to neck and mediastinal lymph nodes (40% to 60% in adults and 90% in children), <5% of patients have distant metastases at time of diagnosis, and lung is most common site.

Differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC) is the most common cancer of the endocrine system. The survival rate of patients diagnosed with DTC is around 90%. The disease primarily affects young patients. The most common treatment for DTC is thyroid removal, followed by ablation of the remaining tissue with radioactive iodine (RAI) therapy. One concern for these patients is the risk of developing a nonsynchronous second primary malignancy (NSPM) during their lifetime. There have been previous studies that have concluded that approximately 30% to 40% of DTC survivors have a higher risk for developing a NSPM. The article “Risk of secondary primary malignancy in differentiated thyroid carcinoma treated with radioactive iodine therapy” compares

People who suffer from cancer or other medical conditions of the thyroid gland can use a special type of therapy. This special treatment, radioactive iodine (I-131) therapy, uses small amounts of radio waves to slow the spread of the virus or infection.

Currently, fine-needle aspiration biopsy is a preoperative diagnostic method with the highest specificity but with varying sensitivity.14–17 Even though the risk profile of fine-needle aspiration (bleed/infection) is low, it is an invasive procedure. In contrast, results of ARFI imaging are available immediately and can be obtained noninvasively. This technique has high sensitivity and specificity for the evaluation of benign and malignant thyroid nodules. It may be more useful in clinical applications and may even replace fine-needle aspiration in the

Thyroid cancer starts in the thyroid gland. The thyroid glands are found in the thyroid cartilage in the front of the neck. In the thyroid glands there are two main types of cells: Follicular cells and C cells. In the Follicular cells use iodine from the blood to produce thyroid hormones, which regulate a person's metabolism. In the C cells make hormones to regulate calcium in the body. Causes for thyroid cancer are still unknown. Most do believe that changes in a person's DNA can cause thyroid cells to become cancerous. Some risk factors for thyroid cancer are smoking, family history, and a person's age. Some risk factors that can be changed are having a low iodine diet and limited radiation. Some ways to prevent the cancer are get tested

La Rosa, S., Sessa, F., & Ohio Library and Information Network. (2015). Pancreatic neuroendocrine neoplasms :practical approach to diagnosis, classification, and therapy. Cham:

When the thyroid is resectable at presentation, total thyroidectomy is the current treatment of choice for malignant disorders of the thyroid and valuable surgical option for the management of several benign thyroid diseases, particularly among patients with an increased risk of recurrence. (1, 13–16)