Thyroid cancer (patient information)

Jump to: navigation, search

Thyroid cancer


What are the symptoms?

What are the causes?

Who is at highest risk?


When to seek urgent medical care?

Treatment options

Where to find medical care for Thyroid cancer?


What to expect (Outlook/Prognosis)?

Possible complications

Thyroid cancer On the Web

Ongoing Trials at Clinical

Images of Thyroid cancer

Videos on Thyroid cancer

FDA on Thyroid cancer

CDC on Thyroid cancer

Thyroid cancer in the news

Blogs on Thyroid cancer

Directions to Hospitals Treating Thyroid cancer

Risk calculators and risk factors for Thyroid cancer

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Sahar Memar Montazerin, M.D.[2] Ammu Susheela, M.D. [3]; Alison Leibowitz [4]

For the WikiDoc page for this topic, click here


The thyroid gland, a butterfly-shaped gland in the neck, produces body-regulating hormones. Thyroid cancer starts in the thyroid gland and manifests without early-stage symptoms. As the cancer further develops, noticeable symptoms begin to arise, such as vocal hoarseness, difficulty swallowing, a lump in the neck, which can be felt through the skin, neck or throat pain, and swollen lymph nodes. Treatment options include surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, and thyroid hormone therapy.

What are the symptoms of thyroid cancer?

While patients with early thyroid cancer do not present with any symptoms, as the tumor grows larger people may notice one or more of the following symptoms:

What causes thyroid cancer?

Who is at highest risk?

Clinical data have suggested that the development of thyroid cancer is related to various factors, such as:


Firstly, a doctor will likely perform a physical exam (noting swollen lymph nodes and lumps in the neck that are perceptible by touch) and review patient medical history. Based upon the physical examination the patient's self-reported symptoms, the doctor may recommend the following tests:

When to seek urgent medical care?

Call your health care provider if symptoms of thyroid cancer develop.

Treatment options

Patients with thyroid cancer have many treatment options. The selection depends on the stage of the tumor. The options are surgery, radioactive iodine, and chemotherapy. In case surgery is not viable, radiation therapy can also be administered.

Where to find medical care for thyroid cancer?

Directions to Hospitals Treating thyroid cancer

Prevention of thyroid cancer

There are no primary preventive measures available for thyroid cancer, although the following may aid in risk reduction:

What to expect (Outlook/Prognosis)?

The prognosis of thyroid cancer depends on the following:

Possible complications