thyroid carcinomas Flashcards
define thyroid carcinomas
An uncommon cancer that causes the most common malignancy of the endocrine system
what are the four types of thyroid carcinomas?
- differentiated carcinomas- 90-95%
- medullary cell carcinomas- 6%
- anaplastic carcinomas- <1%
- thyroid lymphomas-6% of thyroid malignancies
what are the presenting features of thyroid carcinomas and why ?
- thyroid nodules- hard and fixed rather than soft and mobile
- Hoarse voice- due to local compression of the recurrent laryngeal nerve
what are the 4 most common metastasis sites?
-Lung
-Bone
-Liver
-Brain
how are thyroid carcinomas diagnosed?- what is the first line specifically as well?
-Thyroid Ultrasound (First line)
-Fine Needle Aspiration Biopsy
-TFTs
-CT/MRI
how are thyroid carcinomas usually treated?
-Surgery
-Radioactive Iodine
-Radiotherapy
-TSH suppression
how are anaplastic carcinomas treated?
Mostly palliative care, as these have high morbidity and are mostly found in elderly patients.
what is the age range that generally presents with papillary thyroid cancer?
between 30 -40 years of age
what can papillary thyroid cancer metastasise to?
to bone and lung
who is most affected with follicular thyroid cancer.
in areas with low iodine and among women, and typically presents between 30-60 years of age.
what can follicular thyroid cancer metastasise to?
to metastasise to lung and bones rather than locally invade.
where does medullary thyroid cancer originate from?
calcitonin-producing C-cells
what can medullary thyroid cancer present with and why?
It can present with hypocalcaemia and diarrhoea due to increased calcitonin
what is medullary thyroid cancer associated with?
it is associated with Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia (MEN) syndrome type 2A and 2B
what does medullary thyroid cancer metastasise with? what is the prognosis when this happens?
Metastasis often occurs to lymph nodes, and the prognosis is worse than papillary and follicular carcinoma.
