Is thyroid cancer mostly dragged out?

Recently, a cancer patient "Xiaomin is here" has attracted national attention, diagnosed as a "malignant tumor of the thyroid gland with lymph node and bone metastasis of liver, sp,leen, and pancreas", and suspected to have a pressure sore stage IV with inadequate care. The experts said that Minnie is in the advanced stage of cancer and her poor physical condition may not be able to tolerate the anti-tumor treatment.

Thyroid cancer has always had the title of the kindest cancer, why is it also so fierce?

I. Thyroid cancer is not kind but will be more and more serious even if it is delayed

Thyroid cancer, as the name suggests, is cancer growing on the thyroid gland and can be divided into four types: papillary, follicular, medullary, and undifferentiated cancers. Among them, papillary carcinoma and follicular carcinoma belong to differentiated types, which can account for more than 90% of the clinical cases and have a good prognosis, with a 10-year survival rate of about 90% for papillary carcinoma.

Medullary carcinoma, on the other hand, accounts for about 5% of clinical practice, with a 10-year survival rate of about 55%. Undifferentiated carcinoma is a much rarer type, accounting for only 1-2%, and is extremely malignant and prone to cause death, with an average patient survival of only 3-6 months and a 1-year survival rate of 5-15%.

Most thyroid cancers have a good prognosis after treatment, but even good cancer can be fatal. 5% of patients with locally advanced cancer still face the dilemma of inoperability, extensive surgery, trauma, and high recurrence rate, and this group is the "main force" of thyroid cancer death.

The incidence of thyroid cancer is on the rise worldwide, what causes the increasing incidence of thyroid cancer?

Why are there more and more thyroid cancer patients?

Data published in the Journal of the National Cancer Center shows that the incidence of thyroid cancer in China has increased 20 times between 2000 and 2016. The reason why there is such a high growth rate has a lot to do with the advancement of modern examination technology, which can detect in time tiny nodules of 2~3mm in the thyroid gland.

Shan Guangliang, a methodological expert consultant of the National Brain Tumor Registry Platform, pointed out that these causative factors are also crucial for the high incidence of thyroid cancer.

1、Heredity

Genetics is one of the causative factors causing the occurrence of thyroid cancer. About 5% of patients in clinical practice have a family history of the same type of thyroid cancer. In these populations, there are mutations of the proto-oncogene, mismatch repair gene mutations, and inactivation of an oncogene, all of which can induce thyroid cancer.

2、Inappropriate intake of iodine

Too high or too low iodine intake will lead to an increase in thyroid cancer incidence. The incidence of thyroid cancer is generally higher in high iodine areas in China, and all patients are papillary carcinoma. Too low iodine intake can also promote the occurrence of thyroid cancer, but the mechanism is different from that of high iodine.

3、Radiation damage

Some medical radiologists and people who need to be exposed to radiation from nuclear power plants/nuclear weapons for a long time will have a higher risk of cancer than ordinary people because they need to be exposed to ionizing radiation for a long time.

4、Estrogen imbalance

There is estrogen receptor expression in thyroid cancer tissues, so estrogen may also become a cancer promoter. When estrogen secretion in the body is abnormal, it may enhance the adhesion, migration, and invasion of thyroid cancer cells, increasing the risk of thyroid cancer metastasis.

When thyroid cancer comes, the body will show a series of abnormal manifestations, but many people do not understand these symptoms and easily ignore or do not pay attention to them so the best time for treatment is delayed.

Many people are unaware of the disease and should pay attention to these symptoms

According to the Epidemiological Survey of Thyroid Diseases in the Community, the prevalence of thyroid nodules is 18.6%, of which about 5-15% are malignant, that is, thyroid cancer. However, the awareness rate of thyroid disease in China is only 18%, and many people are not alerted in time when symptoms appear in their bodies.

1、Lump in the neck

This is the most common symptom of thyroid cancer, a lump or nodule appears at the base of the neck, but not all lumps are caused by cancer, or they may be ordinary nodules.

2. Hoarse voice

When the voice is persistently hoarse, it should be alerted to the tumor causing the vocal cords to be affected.

3、Difficulty in swallowing solid food

Some thyroid tumors may compress the esophagus and cause difficulty in swallowing. The symptoms are usually more obvious when swallowing solid food but not liquid.

4、Coughing

When the tumor grows to a certain extent, it may cause the patient's esophagus to be compressed, which may lead to shortness of breath and chronic cough.

When the above symptoms are found, it is important to seek medical examination in time to avoid the continuous development of the disease. Surgery is the main treatment for thyroid cancer, do all patients who have thyroid cancer need to undergo total surgery?

What are the side effects of total excision after thyroid cancer?

Prof. Ge Minghua, Vice President of Zhejiang Cancer Hospital, pointed out that there is a great controversy in clinical practice as to whether to perform total excision. It is generally recommended that for single, unilateral thyroid cancer, one side of the gland can be considered for excision, while for some patients with unilateral multiple, bilateral multiple, family history, or history of radiation exposure, total excision is generally recommended.

After total excision, patients may face these troubles

1. Functional impairment

Total thyroidectomy means loss of thyroid function and possible damage to the recurrent laryngeal nerve.

2. Need to take medication for life

Total thyroidectomy requires patients to take medication for the rest of their lives, using thyroxine replacement therapy.

3、Psychological fear and fatigue

About 48% of patients have the fear of cancer recurrence after surgery, resulting in a great impact on the quality of life. And thyroid gland removal will lead to affected thyroid levels in patients' bodies, and they will often feel fatigued in daily life.

Although thyroid cancer is relatively "good", we should not ignore it completely. We should actively seek medical examination and treatment when we find any abnormality in our body to avoid the continuous progress of the disease.