Thyroid Cancer Causes and Treatment Methods

Thyroid Cancer

Thyroid cancer is a disease with high treatment success when the correct diagnosis and treatment is applied.
It is a type of cancer that occurs when cells in the thyroid gland turn into cancer. Thyroid cancers usually appear as a mass in the neck or a nodule within the thyroid gland. Nodule; It is the name given to the disease, which can be the size of a pea or a walnut, and is formed when cells clump together and create communities. It can be divided into cold (non-hormonal secretion) and hot (hormone-secreting).

The type to be taken seriously is the cold one, not the hot one. Because they have a 15% chance of becoming cancerous. Therefore, especially those with cold nodules should have a thyroid biopsy with a needle without wasting time. The reason for performing a biopsy is to detect whether there is cancer in the nodule.

Avoiding cancer-causing substances such as cigarettes and alcohol
Have a thyroid ultrasound
Consuming healthy foods.

Thyroid Cancer Risk Factors

There are 3 main diseases that develop due to the thyroid gland. Goiter, thyroid inflammation and thyroid cancer. Thyroid nodules are the most common of the thyroid gland diseases.

Gender difference is also important in the disease. Looking at the gender distribution, women are 5 times more at risk than men.

The thyroid can also grow in volume as one or more lumps. This is the name given in the medical language; “Nodular Goiter”. It is known that the cause of goiter formation is iodine deficiency.

Symptoms

Goiter gives symptoms such as swelling in the neck, difficulty in swallowing, difficulty in breathing, irritability, fatigue, weight gain, weakness in the hair and dryness of the skin.
Disruption of the hormonal balance of the thyroid gland seriously affects the metabolism. It is also effective on all organ systems, blood cholesterol level, osteoporosis development and sexual life and desire.

Diagnostic Methods

In small goiters, T3, T4, TSH levels and thyroid scintigraphy tests can be performed after the diagnosis and manual examination. The enlargement of the thyroid gland can cause lump-like growths in the throat in sensitive individuals.

This condition is known as noduling. In the later years of untreated goiter patients, noduling may occur. The cancer rate in nodules is 5 percent. However, 95% of patients with thyroid cancer can lead a normal life.

If the person suspects goiter, he should first consult an endocrinologist, that is, a hormone diseases specialist. Illness often requires teamwork. Because, after the ultrasonographic examination by the radiologists after the examination, the need to take a piece and interpret it with a needle biopsy may arise.

As a result of the ‘fine needle aspiration biopsy’ used in the diagnosis of thyroid nodules, patients who are suspicious and diagnosed with cancer are operated on. Operation; It is recommended for patients whose nodule, which is known to be benign, has grown to the point of discomfort during follow-up.

Treatment Methods

There are four main types of cancer in the thyroid gland.

Papillary Type

80% of thyroid cancers are of the papillary type. This type of cancer usually occurs between the ages of 20-50. The incidence in women is 3 times higher than in men. It is the most common type of thyroid cancer in children younger than 14 years of age. Generally, they may not show any symptoms for many years (sometimes 30 years) by remaining below 1 cm without growing.

In cases where the gland is surgically removed for another reason, such as goiter or hyperthyroidism, the incidence of incidental finding is very high.

In recent years, detection rates during examination with ultrasonography instruments during check-up programs have become more frequent.

Thyroid cancers can be treated surgically. The thyroid gland is completely removed (total thyroidectomy). If the patient has a “microcancer” smaller than 10 mm after surgery, no other treatment is applied other than administration of thyroid hormone.

In cases where the cancer spreads to the lymph nodes, the cancer reaches the capsule surrounding the thyroid, and the cancer diameter is greater than 10 mm, radioactive iodine treatment is applied 6 weeks after the surgery.

This treatment reduces the likelihood of the disease coming back, either locally in the neck or as distant metastases. If patients have lymph node involvement in their neck; Along with the thyroid, the lymph nodes also need to be removed as a block.

If this condition is suspected before surgery, the lymph node is not surgically removed in any way. At this stage, the diagnosis is made by needle biopsy, if necessary, and the patient’s thyroid gland is removed together with the lymph nodes without disturbing the tissue integrity. This surgery is called total thyroidectomy + modified radical or functional neck lymph dissection surgery.

The patients are followed up with TSH values ​​and Thyroglobulin values. While TSH shows the amount of hormone the patient receives, a Thyroglobulin value around “0” indicates that the disease has been treated. However, in some cases, it is possible for the disease to come back without an increase in the Thyroglobulin value. More than 90 percent of patients can continue their healthy lives after treatment.

Follicular Type

The patients in this group are mostly women between the ages of 40-60. 10% of thyroid cancers are of the follicular type. Follicular cancers are the most difficult group to diagnose among thyroid cancers. Because in this group, it is not possible to determine whether the lesion is a cancer in the fine needle biopsy performed before the operation or in the frozen section performed during the operation.

Because to understand whether this type of cancer; It is necessary to see whether cells in any part of the capsule surrounding this mass of normal cells have penetrated this capsule and come out.

In case of such an invasion of the capsule, follicular cancer is diagnosed, and if the capsule remains intact, a benign follicular tumor is diagnosed.

The treatments are total thyroidectomy, as in the papillary type, and postoperative radioactive iodine therapy in the case of invaded cancer, regardless of tumor size. 80% of patients can lead a healthy life after treatment.

Medullary Type

While familial types with genetic transmission are seen between the ages of 1-20, non-familial ones appear after the age of 40 and usually have lymph metastasis. They make up 5% of thyroid cancers.

Treatment: Total thyroidectomy (complete removal of the thyroid) and lymph dissection to the side of the tumor. In this type, radioactive iodine is not used after surgery because the cell from which the tumor originates is different from other thyroid cells and cannot hold iodine. In the follow-ups, the calcitonin level in the blood is measured. 60 percent of patients continue their healthy lives after treatment.

Anaplastic Type

This type accounts for about 5 percent of thyroid cancers. It usually occurs after the age of 60 and when papillary or follicular cancers that have been left untreated for many years suddenly start to grow rapidly by changing their biological behavior. In this case, surgical methods cannot be applied. However, radiotherapy treatment can be applied to relieve the patient.

"The content of the page is for informational purposes only. Consult your doctor for diagnosis and treatment."