Alternative Names
cancer of the thyroid
Symptoms & Characteristics
The thyroid gland makes different hormones that help control heart rate, blood pressure, body temperature, and weight.
The most common types of thyroid cancer are papillary (75%-80% of cases), follicular (~15% of cases), and medullary thyroid cancer (5% of cases). There are other less common types such as anaplastic thyroid cancer.
The primary sign of thyroid cancer is a nodule on the thyroid which can be felt by physical exam.
Treatment
Thyroid cancer treatment may include surgery, radioactive iodine, hormone treatment, radiation therapy and/or chemotherapy and depends on the type and stage of cancer.
How Common Is It?
Over 35,000 people are diagnosed with thyroid cancer each year in the United States. Thyroid cancer is more common in females than males.
Genetics & Inheritance
Cancer is a multifactorial condition, which means it involves a combination of genetic, lifestyle and environmental factors. Most cases of thyroid cancer are not inherited and occur sporadically.
Researchers believe that there are probably a number of genes that cause susceptibility to thyroid cancer. However, only a small percentage of cases are due to a hereditary cancer syndrome.
- A hereditary cancer syndrome is caused by an inherited gene mutation that increases the chance to develop one or more types of cancer. Families are more likely to have a hereditary cancer syndrome if there are multiple generations of affected family members with the same cancer (or associated cancers). People who are diagnosed at an unusually young age or have certain rare cancers are also more likely to have a hereditary cancer syndrome. Several different hereditary cancer syndromes have been identified. Click here for more information about Cancer Genetics.
Listed below are some of the more common hereditary cancer syndromes that are associated with predisposition to develop thyroid cancer.
- People with Cowden syndrome have an estimated 10% lifetime risk to develop non-medullary (usually follicular) thyroid cancer.
Some researchers have proposed that genetic variations called SNPs may influence the risk to develop thyroid cancer in some people. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (or SNPs) are small variations in a single "letter" of DNA that can be found throughout our entire genetic make-up. Currently, much of this research still needs to replicated in order to clearly establish an association.
Other yet to be identified or adequately classified genes may also contribute to thyroid cancer.
A cancer genetic consultation with a trained genetic professional is important for a complete evaluation, accurate diagnosis, as well as discussion of the benefits and limitations of testing and recurrence risk.
Genetic Testing
In the absence of a known or suspected hereditary cancer syndrome, clinical cancer predisposition testing for thyroid cancer is unavailable. Cancer predisposition testing for MEN2 may be available through an in person cancer genetic consultation for people who are considered at risk.
The decision to have genetic testing is personal and should always be discussed with trained medical professional. Use our find a genetic professional directory to locate a genetic professional in your area.
Informational genetic testing for susceptibility to thyroid cancer is available online (over the internet) as part of a whole genome scan. Whole genome scanning involves analyzing thousands of SNPs at once related to a number of different health conditions.
- At this point, many genetic professionals do not consider this testing clinically useful or medically relevant, but for informational purposes only. Go to the Tests tab to link to the best providers, compare providers and read provider reviews.
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