Condition Lookup
Sub-Category:
Endocrine Cancers
Number of Conditions: 7
Papillary Thyroid Cancer
Specialty: Oncology
Category: Solid Tumors
Sub-category: Endocrine Cancers
Symptoms:
slow-growing lump in the neck; hoarseness; difficulty swallowing; enlarged lymph nodes
Root Cause:
Malignant growth of follicular cells in the thyroid gland, often associated with mutations like BRAF or RET/PTC.
How it's Diagnosed: videos
Ultrasound, fine-needle aspiration biopsy, and molecular testing for genetic mutations.
Treatment:
Surgery (lobectomy or total thyroidectomy), radioactive iodine therapy, and levothyroxine for hormone suppression.
Medications:
Levothyroxine (thyroid hormone replacement); sorafenib or lenvatinib (for metastatic cases).
Prevalence:
How common the health condition is within a specific population.
Most common type of thyroid cancer, accounting for 80–85% of cases.
Risk Factors:
Factors or behaviors that increase the likelihood of developing the condition.
Radiation exposure, family history, and genetic predisposition.
Prognosis:
The expected outcome or course of the condition over time.
Excellent prognosis with a 10-year survival rate over 95%.
Complications:
Additional problems or conditions that may arise as a result of the original condition.
Recurrence in lymph nodes or distant metastasis, hypothyroidism after treatment.
Follicular Thyroid Cancer
Specialty: Oncology
Category: Solid Tumors
Sub-category: Endocrine Cancers
Symptoms:
neck lump; difficulty swallowing; hoarseness; bone pain (if metastatic)
Root Cause:
Cancer develops in thyroid follicular cells; often associated with iodine deficiency or genetic mutations in the RAS or PAX8 genes.
How it's Diagnosed: videos
Fine-needle aspiration biopsy, radioactive iodine scans, and molecular testing.
Treatment:
Surgery, radioactive iodine therapy, and thyroid hormone replacement therapy.
Medications:
Levothyroxine for hormone replacement; sorafenib or lenvatinib for advanced cases.
Prevalence:
How common the health condition is within a specific population.
Second most common thyroid cancer, accounting for about 10–15% of cases.
Risk Factors:
Factors or behaviors that increase the likelihood of developing the condition.
Iodine deficiency, radiation exposure, and older age.
Prognosis:
The expected outcome or course of the condition over time.
Good prognosis if detected early; survival rates are 85–90% over 10 years.
Complications:
Additional problems or conditions that may arise as a result of the original condition.
Metastasis to bones and lungs, recurrence.
Medullary Thyroid Cancer
Specialty: Oncology
Category: Solid Tumors
Sub-category: Endocrine Cancers
Symptoms:
lump in the neck; diarrhea; flushing; hoarseness; neck pain; enlarged lymph nodes
Root Cause:
Arises from C-cells (parafollicular cells) in the thyroid that produce calcitonin; often associated with genetic mutations, particularly in the RET proto-oncogene.
How it's Diagnosed: videos
Blood tests for elevated calcitonin and carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), fine-needle aspiration biopsy, genetic testing (RET mutation), and imaging (CT, MRI).
Treatment:
Total thyroidectomy, lymph node dissection, and sometimes external beam radiation.
Medications:
Calcitonin (for symptom relief in advanced cases), sorafenib or cabozantinib (targeted therapies for advanced or metastatic disease).
Prevalence:
How common the health condition is within a specific population.
Less common, accounting for 3–5% of thyroid cancers; more frequently diagnosed in people with hereditary genetic conditions like multiple endocrine neoplasia (MEN).
Risk Factors:
Factors or behaviors that increase the likelihood of developing the condition.
Family history of medullary thyroid cancer, genetic mutations (RET mutations), and MEN syndrome types 2A and 2B.
Prognosis:
The expected outcome or course of the condition over time.
Prognosis varies depending on stage; localized cases have good survival rates (80–90%), while advanced or metastatic cases have poorer outcomes.
Complications:
Additional problems or conditions that may arise as a result of the original condition.
Metastasis to the lymph nodes, lungs, liver, and bones; recurrence; and complications from treatment, such as hypocalcemia.
Anaplastic Thyroid Cancer
Specialty: Oncology
Category: Solid Tumors
Sub-category: Endocrine Cancers
Symptoms:
rapidly growing neck lump; difficulty breathing; difficulty swallowing; hoarseness; painful throat
Root Cause:
Highly aggressive cancer that arises from thyroid follicular cells; often associated with mutations in TP53, BRAF, or RAS genes.
How it's Diagnosed: videos
Fine-needle aspiration biopsy, imaging (CT, MRI, PET scans), and molecular testing for genetic mutations.
Treatment:
Surgery (if operable), external beam radiation, chemotherapy (doxorubicin, paclitaxel), and experimental targeted therapies.
Medications:
Doxorubicin (chemotherapy), paclitaxel (chemotherapy), and sorafenib (targeted therapy for advanced disease).
Prevalence:
How common the health condition is within a specific population.
Rare, accounting for 1–2% of thyroid cancers. More common in older adults, usually after the age of 60.
Risk Factors:
Factors or behaviors that increase the likelihood of developing the condition.
Older age, prior history of thyroid cancer, genetic mutations (TP53), and environmental factors such as radiation exposure.
Prognosis:
The expected outcome or course of the condition over time.
Very poor prognosis with a median survival of 6 months; the disease is often diagnosed at an advanced stage.
Complications:
Additional problems or conditions that may arise as a result of the original condition.
Rapid growth, metastasis to distant organs (lungs, bones), airway obstruction, and difficulty in treatment due to its aggressive nature.
Thyroid Cancer
Specialty: Oncology
Category: Solid Tumors
Sub-category: Endocrine Cancers
Symptoms:
lump or swelling in the neck; hoarseness; difficulty swallowing; persistent cough not due to a cold; neck pain; enlarged lymph nodes
Root Cause:
Abnormal growth of cells in the thyroid gland, which may be caused by genetic mutations, radiation exposure, or other factors.
How it's Diagnosed: videos
Physical exam, thyroid ultrasound, fine-needle aspiration biopsy, blood tests (TSH, thyroglobulin), imaging (CT, MRI), and radioactive iodine scans.
Treatment:
Treatment options include surgery (thyroidectomy), radioactive iodine therapy, external beam radiation, targeted therapy, and chemotherapy.
Medications:
Targeted therapy drugs such as sorafenib and lenvatinib (tyrosine kinase inhibitors) may be prescribed. Hormone replacement therapy with levothyroxine (thyroid hormone) is commonly required after thyroidectomy.
Prevalence:
How common the health condition is within a specific population.
Approximately 1% of all cancers globally; more common in women and often diagnosed in individuals aged 30–60.
Risk Factors:
Factors or behaviors that increase the likelihood of developing the condition.
Family history of thyroid cancer, exposure to radiation, genetic mutations (e.g., RET proto-oncogene), iodine deficiency, and female sex.
Prognosis:
The expected outcome or course of the condition over time.
Generally favorable, especially for differentiated thyroid cancers like papillary and follicular types; survival rates exceed 90% with early diagnosis and treatment.
Complications:
Additional problems or conditions that may arise as a result of the original condition.
Recurrent cancer, metastasis to other organs (lungs, bones), hypothyroidism after treatment, and damage to nearby structures (e.g., vocal cords, parathyroid glands).
Parathyroid Cancer
Specialty: Oncology
Category: Solid Tumors
Sub-category: Endocrine Cancers
Symptoms:
neck mass; hypercalcemia (elevated calcium levels); fatigue; weakness; kidney stones; bone pain
Root Cause:
Rare malignant tumor of the parathyroid gland, often resulting in overproduction of parathyroid hormone (PTH), leading to hypercalcemia.
How it's Diagnosed: videos
Elevated calcium and PTH levels in blood tests, neck ultrasound, fine-needle aspiration biopsy, and imaging (CT, MRI, PET scans).
Treatment:
Surgical excision of the parathyroid tumor, with lymph node dissection if needed. Chemotherapy and radiation may be used for advanced disease.
Medications:
Cinacalcet (calcium-sensing receptor agonist to lower calcium), bisphosphonates (to manage bone pain and prevent fractures), and pazopanib (targeted therapy for advanced disease).
Prevalence:
How common the health condition is within a specific population.
Extremely rare, accounting for less than 1% of parathyroid disorders.
Risk Factors:
Factors or behaviors that increase the likelihood of developing the condition.
Previous radiation exposure, hyperparathyroidism, and familial hyperparathyroidism.
Prognosis:
The expected outcome or course of the condition over time.
Prognosis depends on early detection and complete surgical resection; survival rates are lower in advanced cases due to frequent recurrence.
Complications:
Additional problems or conditions that may arise as a result of the original condition.
Recurrence of cancer, metastasis (especially to lungs and bones), hypercalcemia-related issues like kidney stones and osteoporosis.
Adrenal Cortical Carcinoma
Specialty: Oncology
Category: Solid Tumors
Sub-category: Endocrine Cancers
Symptoms:
abdominal pain; back pain; weight loss; hypertension; fatigue; excessive hair growth (in women)
Root Cause:
Rare and aggressive cancer of the adrenal cortex; often associated with mutations in the TP53 gene or familial syndromes like Li-Fraumeni syndrome.
How it's Diagnosed: videos
Imaging (CT, MRI), blood tests for hormone levels (cortisol, aldosterone, etc.), biopsy, and genetic testing for mutations.
Treatment:
Surgical resection, adjuvant chemotherapy (etoposide, doxorubicin), and mitotane (a drug used to treat adrenal cancer).
Medications:
Mitotane (adrenal cytotoxic drug), etoposide (chemotherapy), doxorubicin (chemotherapy).
Prevalence:
How common the health condition is within a specific population.
Very rare, accounting for less than 0.5% of all cancers.
Risk Factors:
Factors or behaviors that increase the likelihood of developing the condition.
Genetic conditions such as Li-Fraumeni syndrome, Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome, and familial adenomatous polyposis.
Prognosis:
The expected outcome or course of the condition over time.
Prognosis is poor with a 5-year survival rate of 15–40% for localized disease; survival rates drop significantly for advanced cases.
Complications:
Additional problems or conditions that may arise as a result of the original condition.
Metastasis to liver, lungs, and lymph nodes; recurrence after treatment; and hormonal imbalances leading to Cushing's syndrome, Conn's syndrome, or virilization.