Prevalence of Thyroid Cancer Rises Sharply

	Tweet

As seen on “NBC Nightly News” Monday, December 21, the thyroid cancer rate is rising rapidly, especially among women. The American Thyroid Association’s members are working to educate more people about thyroid cancer as well as treat and cure it.

Facts on prevalence and impact of thyroid disease.

* Nearly 20 million Americans have some form of thyroid disease.
* About 60 percent of those with thyroid disease are unaware of their condition.
* Women are five to eight times more likely than men to have thyroid problems.
* One woman in eight will develop a thyroid disorder during her lifetime.
* Most thyroid cancers respond to treatment, although a small percentage can be very aggressive.
* The causes of thyroid problems are largely unknown.
* Undiagnosed thyroid disease may put patients at risk for certain serious conditions, such as cardiovascular diseases, osteoporosis and infertility.
* Pregnant women with undiagnosed or inadequately treated hypothyroidism have an increased risk of miscarriage, preterm delivery, and severe developmental problems in their children.
* Most thyroid diseases are life-long conditions that can be managed with medical attention. 

Thyroid nodules present dilemmas

Nodules appear on the thyroid glands of close to 300,000 Americans every year. Unfortunately, upon evaluation some thyroid nodules will indicate thyroid cancer. “Evaluating and treating thyroid nodules presents medical dilemmas and controversies,” explains Hossein Gharib, M.D., professor of medicine at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine. Even many experts disagree on what should be done when thyroid nodules appear.

Thyroid Cancer in Children

There are many unanswered questions about the prevalence and treatment of thyroid cancer in children. “Despite an enormous thyroid disease burden among adults, the prevalence of many of these thyroid disorders are unknown during childhood,” says Dr. Gary Francis of Virginia Commonwealth University.
Among those questions are: How common are thyroid nodules in children? What is the role of iodine deficiency? What is the risk of malignancy in a single thyroid nodule in a young person?

Thyroid cancer and the elderly

“Risks for disease aggressiveness and co-morbidities are important management considerations when treating thyroid cancer among the elderly,” says Dr. Steven I. Sherman of the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. “Curative surgery is not feasible in ten percent of patients over age 75 due to co-morbidities. Typically, these patients may have higher rates of asthma, emphysema, renal failure, arrhythmias and other serious conditions.”

Treating thyroid cancer during pregnancy

According to Dr. Sherman, experts disagree on many aspects of treating thyroid cancer during pregnancy. There is ‘a consensus of nonconsensus.’ Data show that thyroid cancer is the second most likely (behind breast cancer) cancer diagnosed during pregnancy and that diagnoses for pregnant women are more likely to occur during the third to sixth month of pregnancy.

The American Thyroid Association is the world’s leading professional association of medical specialists dedicated to education and research to improve thyroid disease prevention, diagnosis and treatment; improving thyroid patient care; and educating the public about thyroid health and diseases.

Source:  American Thyroid Association

RELATED STORIES:
Thyroid Cancer Increasing, Scientists Don’t Know Why   Increase in Thyroid Cancer in U.S. Attributed to Improved Early Detection   Thyroid cancer patients at risk of second cancer   Statistics About Thyroid Cancer   Office-Based Procedure Adequate for the Diagnosis of Thyroid Cancer   ATA Thyroid Cancer Guidelines Updates   Thyroid cancer a risk after childhood cancer   Targeted Therapy Decreases Progression Rate In Thyroid Cancer   Fighting cancer with cancer: Mayo Clinic finds promising use for thyroid cancer gene   Early detection critical in treating pediatric thyroid cancer   BRAF addiction of thyroid cancers makes them therapeutically vulnerable   Decades after Childhood Radiation, Thyroid Cancer a Concern   Papillary Thyroid Cancer (PTC): Overview   Overtreatment of thyroid cancer rampant: study   Thyroid cancer among women in the U.S. has increased   Thyroid cancer treatment may be overly aggressive   Removal of lymph nodes during surgery for thyroid cancer may be beneficial   Not all thyroid cancers need treatment: study   Thyroid Cancer Diagnoses Increasing   Thyroid cancer on the rise   Key Statistics About Thyroid Cancer   Researchers discover atomic bomb effect results in adult-onset thyroid cancer

Comments

[ + Post Your Own ]

Now you're in the public comment zone. What follows is not Armenian Medical Network's stuff; it comes from other people and we don't vouch for it. A reminder: By using this Web site you agree to accept our Terms of Service. Click here to read the Rules of Engagement.

There are no comments for this entry yet. [ + Comment here + ]