Medullary and Anaplastic thyroid cancer

these two types are the serious and more difficult to treat thyroid cancers as compared to the differentiated thyroid cancers that  i just mentioned. this will be a basic overview of these two rare cancers. it is extremely important, if you have one of these types,  to see a physician who specializes in these cancers. there are also support groups on the thyca.org website that offer information and support for those patients dealing with either of these types of thyroid cancer. 

medullary thyroid cancer begins in the "C" cells of the thyroid gland. these "C" cells produce the hormone calcitonin . it is very important to note that elevated levels of the hormone calcitonin in the blood stream can possibly be an early indicator of medullary cancer. there can be a genetic link associated with this cancer. medullary cancer accounts for about 3 to 5 percent of all thyroid cancers.

i will mention treatment of medullary cancer ( MTC)  here because it is a little different than treatment of the differentiated thyroid cancers. surgery to remove the thyroid gland is indicated, as with differentiated thyroid cancers.  unfortunately, medullary thyroid cancer does not respond to the radioactive iodine treatment. early detection is key to survival. there is an aproximately 90% survival rate after 15 years if detected early, surgery is performed, and the disease has not spread to distant sites. if there is some involvement in the neck area, the survival rate is reduced to 76%. if however, there are distant metastases( the disease has spread, in other words)  the survival rate drops to only 3%. there have been two new drugs approved for the treatment of MTC within the past couple of years. . the names of these chemotherapy drugs are: vandetanib and cabozantinib. there are side effects that one might expect with traditional chemotherapy drugs. careful monitoring of patients with MTC is crucial- to determine the staging and if chemotherapy or radiation is indicated. quality of life is also a consideration.

anaplastic thyroid cancer (ATC) is " one of the most aggressive solid tumors to affect humans." according to the Journal of Oncology, vol. 2011, article ID# 542358. this type of cancer is not present in children. it occurs in adults over 65 or  70 years of age. in one study, cited by the Journal of Oncology, 67% of patients were over 70; females comprised 70% of those patients, while
 males comprised 30%. thankfully, ATC makes up only 1 to 2% of all thyroid cancers. the median survival rate of ATC is only 3 to 5 MONTHS.

treatment for ATC is surgery, and can include the chemotherapy drug doxorubicin. only 22% of patients respond to this chemotherapy drug, however. newer drugs are being studied, and hopefully there will be a better treatment on the horizon. ATC is a rapidly growing, aggressive, " get your affairs in order" type of cancer. the very best thing that can be said about ATC is that while differentiated thyroid cancers are on the rise, and are the fastest growing( in numbers) cancers in the US, according to the American Cancer Society, ATC cases are actually decreasing.

so, i have provided a quick overview of the main types of thyroid cancer. i sincerely hope that this information has been of some help. perhaps those reading this are thyroid cancer patients, or have a loved one or family member who is a thyroid cancer patient. with better education, comes better understanding. i began these blogs when one of my physicians called my thyroid cancer the " good cancer". i wonder what he would say after reading my blogs...