What are the differences between different types of thyroid cancer

Thyroid cancer is a common endocrine tumor in clinical practice. Different types of thyroid cancer vary greatly in pathological type, malignancy, distant metastasis, surgical risk, prognosis, etc. It is recommended that thyroid cancer patients be detected, diagnosed and treated early to improve their survival rate.

1. Pathological type: Thyroid cancer can be divided into papillary thyroid cancer, follicular thyroid cancer, anaplastic thyroid cancer, and medullary thyroid cancer according to pathological type. Most thyroid cancers are papillary thyroid cancer, followed by follicular thyroid cancer and anaplastic thyroid cancer, while medullary thyroid cancer is relatively rare;

2. Malignancy: The malignancy of thyroid cancer is relatively low. Clinically, the malignancy of papillary thyroid cancer is second only to that of anaplastic thyroid cancer, while the malignancy of anaplastic thyroid cancer is the highest.

3. Distant metastasis: The incidence of distant metastasis of papillary thyroid cancer and follicular thyroid cancer is low, accounting for a relatively low proportion among all types of thyroid cancer. The incidence of distant metastasis of medullary thyroid cancer is high, among which lung metastasis has the highest incidence, followed by bone metastasis, liver metastasis, etc.;

4. Surgical risk: Due to the complex anatomical structure around the thyroid gland, thyroid cancer surgery is a large-scale surgery with relatively high surgical risks. Especially for elderly patients and patients with other diseases, the surgical risk is even greater;.

5. Prognosis: Most thyroid cancer patients can be cured after surgery, but the prognosis of patients with advanced thyroid cancer is usually poor, and some patients with advanced thyroid cancer cannot even undergo surgery. Therefore, the pathological type should be determined under the doctor's advice and appropriate treatment should be taken.

In addition to the above, different types of thyroid cancer also have differences in the development of lesions. Once a patient finds a lump in the thyroid gland accompanied by symptoms such as difficulty swallowing and hoarseness, he or she should seek medical attention in time to avoid delaying the disease.