What are the characteristics of thyroid cancer?

What are the characteristics of thyroid cancer? Although the symptoms of thyroid cancer are not obvious in the early stages of the disease, there are still differences from a healthy physical condition. As long as the patient has a certain amount of common sense and careful observation, he or she can still make a judgment. So what are the characteristics of thyroid cancer? Let's take a look together.

Clinical manifestations: Papillary thyroid cancer manifests as a gradually enlarging neck mass, which is painless and may be discovered accidentally by the patient or physician. Therefore, the patient usually seeks medical attention late and is easily misdiagnosed as a benign lesion. Patients with papillary thyroid cancer may experience varying degrees of hoarseness. Patients with papillary thyroid cancer do not have changes in thyroid function, but some patients may develop hyperthyroidism. During a neck physical examination, the characteristic manifestation is an asymmetrical mass in the thyroid gland, which is hard in texture, has fuzzy edges, and has an uneven surface. The mass may move with swallowing; if the tumor invades the trachea or surrounding tissues, the mass is relatively fixed.

Metastasis characteristics: When lymph node metastasis occurs in papillary thyroid carcinoma, it is mostly limited to the thyroid region, supraclavicularly. In a few cases, axillary lymph node metastasis may occur. In some cases, the sentinel lymph nodes above the isthmus of the thyroid may swell. About 50% of patients may have regional lymph node metastasis. A small number of cases metastasize through the bloodstream, mainly to the lungs, which may form several tumor nodules in the lungs or make the entire lung appear snowflake-like. Patients can maintain relatively normal lung function for 10 to 30 years with tumors, becoming the only source of thyroid hormone in the body after thyroidectomy, leading to obstructive and restrictive lung disease. Distant metastasis may also occur in bones and other places.

Some thyroid cancer lumps are distributed in follicular form. Such patients will find that they have lumps in their thyroid gland, but the growth rate of the lumps is slow and the surface is uneven. The patient will have a slight hoarseness, and the lumps will metastasize after a period of time. At this time, the patient's condition is not serious, and the patient will not feel any discomfort, so it is often ignored. There is a type of thyroid cancer cell that has not yet begun to differentiate. Such patients will have lumps in their necks. The lumps are hard and grow very fast. If the treatment is not timely, lymph nodes will swollen after a period of time. The patient's condition is slightly aggravated, and there is intermittent pain, but it can be relieved after rest or taking painkillers.

By understanding the above knowledge, we have a special understanding of the symptoms after the onset of thyroid cancer. This disease has caused trouble to many friends, but it will not harm their health. Everyone needs to be more vigilant about the occurrence of this disease. After the disease occurs, you must go to the hospital as soon as possible for relevant treatment and insist on treating the disease.