Thyroid cancer is a rare type of cancer that affects the thyroid gland, a small gland at the base of the neck. 

The most common symptom of cancer of the thyroid is a painless lump or swelling that develops in the neck.

Other symptoms only tend to occur after the condition has reached an advanced stage, and may include:

• unexplained hoarseness that lasts for more than a few weeks
• a sore throat or difficulty swallowing that doesn’t get better
• a lump elsewhere in your neck

It’s important to remember that if you have a lump in your thyroid gland, it doesn’t necessarily mean you have thyroid cancer. About 1 in 20 thyroid lumps are cancerous.

The thyroid gland

The thyroid gland consists of two lobes located on either side of the windpipe. Its main purpose is to release hormones (chemicals that have powerful effects on many different functions of the body).

The thyroid gland releases three separate hormones:

• triiodothyronine – known as T3
• thyroxine – known as T4
• calcitonin

The T3 and T4 hormones help regulate the body’s metabolic rate (the rate at which the various processes in the body work, such as how quickly calories are burnt).

An excess of T3 and T4 will make you feel overactive and you may lose weight. If you don’t have enough of these hormones, you’ll feel sluggish and you may gain weight.

Calcitonin helps control blood calcium levels. Calcium is a mineral that performs a number of important functions, such as building strong bones.

Calcitonin isn’t essential for maintaining good health because your body also has other ways of controlling calcium.

Types of thyroid cancer

There are four main types of thyroid cancer. They are:

• papillary carcinoma – this is the most common type, accounting for about 6 out of 10 (60%) cases; it usually affects people under the age of 40, particularly women
• follicular carcinoma – accounts for around 3 out of 20 (15%) cases of thyroid cancer and tends to affect older adults
• medullary thyroid carcinoma – accounts for between 5 and 8 out of every 100 diagnosed cases (5-8%); unlike the other types of thyroid cancer, medullary thyroid carcinoma can run in families
• anaplastic thyroid carcinoma – this is the rarest and most aggressive type of thyroid cancer, accounting for less than 1 in 20 thyroid cancers; it usually affects older people over the age of 60

Papillary and follicular carcinomas are sometimes known as differentiated thyroid cancers, and they’re often treated in the same way.

How common is thyroid cancer?

Thyroid cancer is a rare form of cancer, accounting for less than 1% of all cancer cases in the UK. Each year, around 2,700 people are diagnosed with thyroid cancer in the UK.

It’s most common in people aged 35 to 39 years and in those aged 70 years or over.

Women are two to three times more likely to develop thyroid cancer than men. It’s unclear why this is, but it may be a result of the hormonal changes associated with the female reproductive system.

What causes thyroid cancer?

In most cases, the cause of thyroid cancer is unknown. However, certain things can increase your chances of developing the condition.

Risk factors for thyroid cancer include:

• having a benign (non-cancerous) thyroid condition
• having a family history of thyroid cancer (in the case of medullary thyroid cancer)
• having a bowel condition known as familial adenomatous polyposis
• acromegaly – a rare condition where the body produces too much growth hormone
• having a previous benign (non-cancerous) breast condition
• weight and height
• radiation exposure

Diagnosing thyroid cancer

A type of blood test known as a thyroid function test will measure the hormone levels in your blood and rule out or confirm other thyroid problems.

If nothing else seems to be causing the lump in your thyroid, fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) is used.

Further testing may be required if the FNAC results are inconclusive, or if more information is needed to make your treatment more effective.

Treating thyroid cancer

Your recommended treatment plan will depend on the type and grade of your cancer, and whether a complete cure is realistically achievable.

Differentiated thyroid cancers (DTCs) are treated using a combination of surgery to remove the thyroid gland (thyroidectomy) and a type of radiotherapy that destroys any remaining cancer cells and prevents the thyroid cancer returning.

Medullary thyroid carcinomas tend to spread faster than DTCs, so it may be necessary to remove any nearby lymph nodes, as well as your thyroid gland.

Recurrence

Cancerous cells will return in an estimated 5-20% of people with a history of thyroid cancer. In approximately 10-15% of people the cancerous cells will come back in other parts of their body, such as their bones.

Cancerous cells can sometimes return many years after surgery and radioactive iodine treatment has been completed.

You’ll be asked to attend regular check-ups so any cancerous cells that return can be treated quickly.

Preventing thyroid cancer

From the available evidence, eating a healthy, balanced diet is the best way to avoid getting thyroid cancer and all other types of cancer.

A low-fat, high-fibre diet is recommended that includes plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables (at least five portions a day) and whole grains.

Outlook

The outlook for differentiated thyroid cancers is very good. Most people (80-90%) will have a normal lifespan.

Papillary and follicular carcinomas tend to be slow growing and relatively straightforward to treat.

More than 9 out of 10 people with papillary carcinoma will live for 10 or more years after diagnosis. More than 8 out of 10 people with follicular thyroid cancer will live for at least 10 years after being diagnosed.

Medullary thyroid carcinoma is harder to treat. It doesn’t respond to iodine treatment, so removing all of the cancerous cells can be difficult.

Survival rates for medullary thyroid carcinoma depend on the stage of the cancer when it was diagnosed. If diagnosed in its early stages, 97% of people live at least five years after diagnosis.

If medullary thyroid carcinoma is diagnosed after it has spread to other parts of the body, 1 in 4 people live at least five years after diagnosis.

Because of its aggressive nature, less than 1 in 10 people with anaplastic thyroid carcinoma will live at least five years after being diagnosed.

What is myeloma?

Myeloma, also known as multiple myeloma, is a cancer arising from plasma cells, a type of white blood cell which is made in the bone marrow.  Bone marrow is the ‘spongy’ material found in the centre of the larger bones in the body. The bone marrow is where all blood cells are made.

Plasma cells form part of your immune system. Normal plasma cells produce antibodies, also called immunoglobulins, to help fight infection.

In myeloma, these plasma cells become abnormal, multiply uncontrollably and release only one type of antibody – known as paraprotein – which has no useful function. It is often through the measurement of this paraprotein that myeloma is diagnosed and monitored.

Unlike many cancers, myeloma does not exist as a lump or tumour. Most of the medical problems related to myeloma are caused by the build-up of the abnormal plasma cells in the bone marrow and the presence of the paraprotein in the blood or in the urine.

Myeloma affects multiple places in the body (hence ‘multiple’ myeloma) where bone marrow is normally active in an adult i.e. within the bones of the spine, skull, pelvis, the rib cage, long bones of the arms and legs and the areas around the shoulders and hips.

Myeloma is a relapsing-remitting cancer. This means there are periods when the myeloma is causing symptoms and/or complications and needs to be treated, followed by periods of remission or plateau where the myeloma does not cause symptoms and does not require treatment.

Kidney cancer is the eighth most common cancer in adults in the UK, with just over 10,100 people diagnosed each year.

Signs and symptoms of kidney cancer can include:

• blood in your urine
• a constant pain in your side, just below the ribs
• a lump or swelling in the kidney area (on either side of the body)

See your GP as soon as possible if you experience any of these symptoms. They will examine you and may refer you to a specialist clinic for further tests.

In around half of all cases of kidney cancer there are no symptoms, and the condition is detected during tests for other unrelated conditions.

The kidneys and cancer

The kidneys are two bean-shaped organs located on either side of the body, just underneath the ribcage.

Their main role is to filter out waste products from the blood, in addition to producing urine. Only one of the kidneys is usually affected by cancer.

The human body is made up of billions of cells, which normally grow and multiply in an orderly way, with new cells being created only when and where they’re needed. In cancer, this orderly process goes wrong and cells begin to grow and multiply uncontrollably.

Exactly what triggers this growth is unknown; however, there are certain risk factors that can increase the chances of the condition developing, such as smoking and obesity.

Kidney cancer most frequently affects people over 50 years of age and is more common among men.

Types of kidney cancer

Many different types of cancer can affect the kidneys. The most common type is renal cell carcinoma (RCC), which accounts for more than 80% of all kidney cancers.

Rarer types of kidney cancer include:

• transitional cell cancer – develops in the lining of the kidneys and usually affects men who are 50 years of age or over
• Wilms’ tumour – a rare type of kidney cancer that affects children

Treating kidney cancer

The earlier kidney cancer is diagnosed, the easier it is to treat.

How it’s treated will depend on the size and spread of the cancer. Surgery to remove the cancerous cells is usually the first course of action.

Unlike most other cancers, chemotherapy isn’t very effective at treating kidney cancer. However, non-surgical treatments are available, such as radiotherapy or targeted therapies. These are most commonly used in the more advanced stages of kidney cancer, when the cancer has spread beyond the kidney.

Preventing kidney cancer

As the causes of kidney cancer aren’t fully understood, it’s not possible to fully prevent it.

However, leading a healthy lifestyle may reduce the chances of developing the condition. A combination of a healthy diet and regular exercise will help to avoid becoming overweight or obese, which is a significant risk factor for kidney cancer. You can also check out
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Outlook

The outlook for kidney cancer is usually good if the condition is diagnosed in its early stages, when the cancer is still contained inside the kidney.

Kidney cancer can often be completely cured by removing some or all of the kidney. This is because it’s possible to live a healthy life with only one kidney. Around one in three cases of kidney cancer are diagnosed at an early stage.

Depending on how aggressive the cancer is, 65-90% of people will live at least five years after receiving an early diagnosis of kidney cancer, with many people living much longer.

The outlook for kidney cancer that’s spread outside the kidney is less favourable. Around 40-70% of people with this stage of kidney cancer will live at least five years after receiving a diagnosis.

In cases where kidney cancer is advanced and has spread to other parts of the body, only around 10% of people will live for at least five years after receiving a diagnosis.