Prevention of thyroid cancer

1. What is thyroid cancer?

Thyroid cancer is a type of cancer that starts in the thyroid gland. It happens when cells in the thyroid grow out of control and crowd out normal cells. Thyroid cancer cells can spread to other parts of the body such as the lungs and the bone and grow there. When cancer cells do this, it’s called metastasis. But the type of cancer is based on the type of cells it started from. So even if thyroid cancer spreads to the lung (or any other place), it’s still called thyroid cancer, not called lung cancer.

2. Thyroid cancer risk factors

Scientists have found a few risk factors that make a person more likely to develop thyroid cancer.

a.Risk factors that can’t be changed

Gender and age: For unclear reasons thyroid cancers (like almost all diseases of the thyroid) occur about 3 times more often in women than in men. 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).

Hereditary conditions: Several inherited conditions have been linked to different types of thyroid cancer such as Medullary thyroid cancer, Familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP), Cowden disease, Carney complex, type I, Familial nonmedullary thyroid carcinoma. Still, most people who develop thyroid cancer do not have an inherited condition or a family history of the disease.

Family history: Having a first-degree relative (parent, brother, sister, or child) with thyroid cancer, even without a known inherited syndrome in the family, increases your risk of thyroid cancer. The genetic basis for these cancers is not totally clear.

b.Risk factors that may be changed

Radiation: Radiation exposure is a proven risk factor for thyroid cancer. Sources of such radiation include certain medical treatments and radiation fallout from power plant accidents or nuclear weapons. Being exposed to radiation when you are an adult carries much less risk of thyroid cancer.

Being overweight or obese: According to the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), people who are overweight or obese have a higher risk of developing thyroid cancer than those who are not. The risk appears to go up as the body mass index (BMI) increases. 

Iodine in the diet: Follicular thyroid cancers are more common in areas of the world where people’s diets are low in iodine. On the other hand, a diet high in iodine may increase the risk of papillary thyroid cancer.

3. Diagnose thyroid cancer

The majority of thyroid cancer patients accidentally discover the disease when coming for examination or periodic physical exams. In other cases, the patient came to the hospital in the state of a large, invasive tumor, lymph node in the neck area causing pressure to surround organs such as the trachea, esophagus, laryngeal nerve reversed that cause corresponding symptoms such as difficulty breathing, swallowing problems, hoarseness. These patients have low educational levels, just come to see the doctor when having a serious illness.

4. Prevention and treatment of diseases

For Treament: There are 3 main treatments for cancer in general which are surgery, radiation therapy, and medical treatment. Chemicals are generally less effective in treating thyroid cancer. Surgery plays the most important and decisive role in the outcome. 

For Prevention: Most people with thyroid cancer have no known risk factors, so it is not possible to prevent most cases of this disease.

• Radiation exposure, especially in childhood, is a known thyroid cancer risk factor. Because of this, doctors no longer use radiation to treat less serious diseases.

• Genetic tests can be done to look for the gene mutations found in familial medullary thyroid cancer (MTC). 

It is essential to see a doctor who is familiar with the latest advances in genetic counseling and genetic testing for this disease also to take general cancer screening to detect early the disease. 

Check out the general cancer screening package to detect thyroid cancer at an early stage and have prompt treatment: https://careplusvn.com/en/cancer-screening-test 

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Source: The Ministry of Health & American Cancer Society