Thyroid cancer

Introduction: Thyroid cancer

Cancer of the thyroid gland. Types of thyroid cancer include papillary thyroid cancer, follicular thyroid cancer and medullary thyroid cancer. The thyroid is a hormone producing gland found in the neck. Over 20,000 new cases of this cancer are diagnosed each year in the US. Thyroid cancer is more common in females than males.

Symptoms of Thyroid cancer

• Neck lump - in the front of the neck near the Adam's apple
• Neck nodule
• Painless neck lump
• Neck swelling
• Hoarseness

See full list of 13 symptoms of Thyroid cancer

Home Diagnostic Testing

Home medical testing related to Thyroid cancer:

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• Thyroid: Home Testing:
  • Home Thyroid Function Tests
  • Home TSH Tests
  • Home Adrenal Function Tests

Medical Textbooks Online about Thyroid cancer

Book excerpts: Copyright © 2008 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. All rights reserved.

Diagnostic Tests for Thyroid cancer

• Physical exam - especially a neck exam.
• Thyroid blood tests
• TSH blood test
• Thyroglobulin blood test
• Calcium blood test

See full list of 15 diagnostic tests for Thyroid cancer

Wrongly Diagnosed with Thyroid cancer?

• Misdiagnosis of Thyroid cancer
• Underlying causes of Thyroid cancer (possibly wrongly diagnosed)

Misdiagnosis and Thyroid cancer

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Read more about Misdiagnosis and Thyroid cancer

Causes of Thyroid cancer

• Familial medullary thyroid cancer - an altered RET gene causes a familial form of medullary thyroid cancer
• Multiple endocrine neoplasia (MEN) syndrome

Read more about causes of Thyroid cancer

More information about causes of Thyroid cancer:

• Underlying causes of Thyroid cancer
• Thyroid cancer as a complication caused by other conditions
• Thyroid cancer as a symptom
• Medical news summaries relating to Causes of Thyroid cancer

Treatments for Thyroid cancer

• Surgery
  • Total thyroidectomy
  • Lobectomy (thyroid)
  • Local lymph node removal
  • Parathyroid gland removal - often removed with the thyroid

See full list of 12 treatments for Thyroid cancer

Videos for Thyroid cancer

Patient Surveys for Thyroid cancer

• Patient Profile Survey
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• Survey about the symptoms of your Thyroid cancer
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Prognosis for Thyroid cancer

Prognosis for Thyroid cancer: Most thyroid cancers grow very slowly and can be effectively treated. (Source: excerpt from Thyroid Disease: NWHIC)

More about prognosis of Thyroid cancer

Reseach about Thyroid cancer

Visit our research pages for current research about Thyroid cancer treatments.

Clinical Trials for Thyroid cancer

The US based website ClinicalTrials.gov lists information on both federally and privately supported clinical trials using human volunteers.

Some of the clinical trials listed on ClinicalTrials.gov for Thyroid cancer include:

• Phase II Study of IMRT With SIB as Adjuvant Treatment for High Risk Resected Well-Differentiated Thyroid Cancer. - This study is currently recruiting patients (Current: 23 Nov 2006)
• Total Thyroidectomy With Harmonic Scalpel - This study is not yet open for patient recruitment (Current: 23 Nov 2006)
• Study of Radioiodine (131-I) Uptake Following Administration of Thyrogen and Hypothyroid States During Thyroid Hormone Withdrawal. - This study has been completed (Current: 23 Nov 2006)
• Study of the Anti-Angiogenesis Agent AG-013736 in Patients With Metastatic Thyroid Cancer - This study is no longer recruiting patients (Current: 23 Nov 2006) - VEGFR and PDGFR inhibitor
• The Dose of Radioactive Iodine Needed to Ablate the Thyroid Remnant Left Behind After Thyroidectomy - This study is no longer recruiting patients (Current: 23 Nov 2006) - radioiodine

See full list of 39 Clinical Trials for Thyroid cancer

Prevention of Thyroid cancer

Prevention information for Thyroid cancer has been compiled from various data sources and may be inaccurate or incomplete. None of these methods guarantee prevention of Thyroid cancer.

• Avoid radiation
• Iodine supplements - if diet is deficient in iodine
• Salt with added iodine - commonly used in the USA
• Prophylactic thyroidectomy - rarely used except for familial inherited types.

Read more about prevention of Thyroid cancer

Statistics for Thyroid cancer

• Medical statistics for Thyroid cancer
• Prevalence and incidence statistics for Thyroid cancer
• Death and Mortality statistics for Thyroid cancer
• Society statistics for Thyroid cancer

Types of Thyroid cancer

• Papillary thyroid cancer
• Follicular thyroid cancer
• Medullary thyroid cancer - only about 5-10% of cases
• Anaplastic thyroid cancer - only about 1-2% of cases; usually patients over 65.

Read more about Types of Thyroid cancer

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User Interactive Forums

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