HYDERABAD: Cancer is not only a health concern, it is a complex issue that also involves social, economic, developmental, and human rights. Thyroid cancer is relatively uncommon compared to other cancers. In India incidence of thyroid cancer is > 20,000 patients whereas nearly >4,000 die because of it.
Thyroid cancer can be cured if diagnosed early and treated with surgery and radioactive iodine. Even when thyroid cancer is more advanced effective targeted therapies are available for most common types of thyroid cancer, shares Dr Palanki Satya Dattatreya, Director & Chief of Medical Oncology Services, Renova Soumya Cancer Centre.
There are certain risk factors which cannot be changed like hereditary conditions, family history and age and gender thyroid cancer can occur at any age, but the risk peaks earlier for women (who are most often in their 40s or 50s when diagnosed) than for men (who are usually in their 60s or 70s). Risk Factors that may be changes are radiation, being overweight or obese & iodine in the diet.
Thyroid cancer can cause any of the following signs or symptoms
A lump in the neck, sometimes growing quickly, swelling in the neck, pain in the front of the neck, sometimes going up to the ears, hoarseness or other voice changes that do not go away, trouble swallowing, trouble breathing & constant cough that is not due to a cold.
Many of these symptoms can also be caused by non-cancerous conditions or even other cancers of the neck area. Still, if you have any of these symptoms, it’s important to see your doctor so the cause can be found and treated, if needed.
Most cancers are treated with removal of the thyroid gland (thyroidectomy), although small tumours that have not spread outside the thyroid gland may be treated by just removing the side of the thyroid containing the tumour (lobectomy). If lymph nodes are enlarged or show signs of cancer spread, they will be removed as well.
Treatment after surgery depends on the stage of the cancer
Radioactive Iodine (RAI) treatment is sometimes used after thyroidectomy for early stage cancers (T1 or T2), but the cure rate with surgery alone is excellent. If the cancer does come back, radioiodine treatment can still be given.
RAI therapy is often given for more advanced cancers such as T3 or T4 tumours, or cancers that have spread to lymph nodes or distant areas. The goal is to destroy any remaining thyroid tissue and to try to treat any cancer remaining in the body. Areas of distant spread that do not respond to RAI might need to be treated with external beam radiation therapy, targeted therapy, or chemotherapy.
Recurrent cancer
Treatment of cancer that comes back after initial treatment depends mainly on where the cancer is growing, although other factors may be important as well. The recurrence might be found by either blood tests or imaging tests such as ultrasound or radioiodine scans.
For cancers that have spread, chemotherapy alone can be used. If the cancer cells have changes in certain genes, treatment with targeted drugs might be helpful.It is important to talk to your doctor about your individual profile of cancer and expected prognosis. It will be necessary to have lifelong monitoring, even after successful treatment. The best way we can manage a cancer is by understanding the early signs and beginning timely management.