What is thyroid cancer?

What is thyroid cancer? The thyroid gland is a part of the body that is prone to disease, and thyroid cancer is the most serious disease of the thyroid gland. Thyroid cancer can cause multiple injuries to patients, and the consequences are very serious. Therefore, we must pay attention to the prevention of this disease in our lives. So, what is thyroid cancer?

Thyroid cancer is generally divided into differentiated thyroid cancer including papillary (micro) thyroid cancer and follicular thyroid cancer, poorly differentiated thyroid cancer such as medullary cancer and anaplastic thyroid cancer, and some rare malignant tumors such as thyroid lymphoma, thyroid metastatic cancer and thyroid squamous cell carcinoma. Among them, the proportion of papillary thyroid cancer is about 90%, the proportion of follicular thyroid cancer is about 5%, the proportion of medullary thyroid cancer is about 4%, and the rest are other malignant tumors such as anaplastic thyroid cancer.

Symptoms: Differentiated thyroid cancer is usually more common in women, with a female:male ratio of about 3:1. The incidence of differentiated thyroid cancer increases with age, and the common age is 30-60 years old. Differentiated thyroid cancer develops slowly. Patients may find a gradually enlarging painless mass in the neck, which may be discovered by themselves or accidentally during physical examinations, or discovered during B-ultrasound and other examinations. In the late stage of the disease, varying degrees of hoarseness, dysphonia, dysphagia, dyspnea, coughing and hemoptysis may occur. Physical examination shows that the tumor is mostly hard, with a smooth surface and clear borders. If the tumor is confined to the thyroid gland, it may move up and down with swallowing; if it has invaded the trachea or adjacent tissues, it is relatively fixed.

Diagnosis: Needle aspiration cytology is one of the most reliable diagnostic methods for thyroid cancer, with an accuracy rate of more than 80%. Rapid frozen section examination during surgery is a key diagnostic method for thyroid cancer, with an accuracy rate of nearly 90%. Paraffin section pathology examination is the most ideal diagnostic measure for thyroid cancer, with an accuracy rate of 100%.