Oncology of the thyroid gland is considered a rare pathology. Histologically, it can develop in several forms of papillary, anaplastic, medullary and follicular.
The most common form is papillary, it is detected in 70-80% of cases of thyroid cancer. The share of follicular oncology accounts for only 10-15%, this is the second most popular form of cancer.
The elderly women are most prone to such tumors, but in men it is found much less often. Approximately one-third of cancer patients do not metastasize and do not germinate into neighboring tissues. Such tumors are called minimally invasive.
In other cases, the follicular tumor of the thyroid gland has a fairly aggressive course, the tumor metastasizes into blood vessels, lymph nodes, lung and bone tissues, however, they are treated fairly well by radioactive iodine therapy.
The ability for distant metastasis makes this form of oncology very dangerous, because a secondary metastatic focus can be formed in the brain, the system of secretion and respiration, bone structures, etc.
Therefore, the treatment of follicular cancer is almost always complex, including the rapid removal and subsequent destruction of metastasisray or chemotherapeutic method.
Causes of the development of the pathology of
The following factors play an important role in the development of follicular thyroid tumors:
- Pathologically low immune status, the body's inability to withstand oncology;
- Hereditary predisposition;
- The presence of iodine deficiency;
- Presence in the anamnesis of benign tumors thyroid;
- Ionizing radioactive exposure;
- Prolonged passage of the course of radiation therapy;
- Mature and advanced age, although there have been isolated cases of such a cancer in children;
- Employment in hazardous and environmentally hazardous production;
- Presence of a multinodal form of goiter;
- Unhealthy addiction associated with the use of alcohol and tobacco carcinogens;
- Prolonged stressful conditions, adversely affecting the immune status and onco-resistance of the body.
These are only predisposing factors of oncology development, finally the causes of follicular thyroid cancer have not yet been determined.
Symptoms of follicular thyroid cancer
For the follicular type of tumor, typically long-term development, slowed growth and later metastasis.
Usually follicular cancer is accompanied by such symptoms:
- The presence in the cervical region of an appreciable tumor-like seal, which can be mobile or does not move. Such formations are localized on the front side of the neck;
- There are difficulties in swallowing, the patient as if something is preventing swallowing;
- Sometimes there is lymph node growth;
- Education with time begins to cause discomfort, and then becomes a cause of intense soreness;
- Patient notes the appearance of signs of chronic fatigue;
- There is a change in the voice timbre, the voice seems to break, as in boys in adolescence;
- May disturb convulsions in the limbs, tingling and crawling;
- Sleep disturbed;
- The patient becomes apathetic;
- The production of viscous mucous secretion is activated, which causes the patient to constantly cough;
- Often concerned about hyperpot;
- Hyperthyroidism develops;
- The patient has an appetite, which results in a characteristic weight loss;
- In the late stages of the oncology process, there are signs of the spread of cancer throughout the body due to the toxic effects of the oncocells.
A characteristic feature of follicular carcinoma is the age of the patients, because the tumor affects mainly people for 40. And if the cancer patients have up to 50 predictions relatively successful, then the predictions that have crossed this age threshold are complicated by numerous and active metastasis.
Degrees and their forecast
Oncologists subdivide follicular type of thyroid carcinoma into several stages:
- I degree. The tumor does not exceed 2 cm in diameter, the cells do not disintegrate, there is no metastasis. The level of tumor aggressiveness is estimated as average. At this stage, the tumor is often latent, has the most favorable prognosis for treatment and survival, which is 100%;
- II degree. Education slightly increases, reaching 2-4 cm, but it does not cross the thyroid gland. Metastasis is not observed. Survival rate is about 100%;
- III degree. The tumor exceeds 4-centimeter diameter, although there are no metastases, but it extends beyond the gland. The third degree is also determined in the case of local lymph node metastasis of a tumor of any size, with no cell decay, as well as distant metastasis. Survival is about 70%;
- Degree IV a. It is defined in a tumor of any size having an invasion beyond the glandular capsule and metastasizing to the lymph nodes of the cervical and thoracic localization. At the same time, other organs are not affected;
- Stage IV b. Tumor of any size with invasion beyond the glandular capsule, sprouting into the cervical vertebral column and adjacent to it lymph nodes and large-tissue tissues. In other organs, there are no metastases;
- Stage IV c. There is a large-scale invasion affecting distant organs. A similar stage of follicular thyroid carcinoma has the worst prognosis. Survival is not more than 50%.
Diagnosis
Diagnostic methods for follicular thyroid cancer are no different from other oncoforms and involves the following studies:
- Ultrasound diagnostics that visualizes the presence of non-palpable nodules;
- MRI - allows you to visualize the organ and tumor in a 3D projection, which is displayed on X-rays;
- Computer tomography examination provides layer-by-layer examination of thyroid structures;
- Radioisotope diagnosis - effective for determining the extent of metastasis, to determine the degree of malignancy, such a study can not;
- Puncture biopsy with immunochemical and histological analysis allows you to accurately determine the nature of the formation. Based on the findings, doctors determine the need for surgery;
- Laryngoscopic diagnosis - involves examination of the larynx and the vocal apparatus;
- Biochemical laboratory studies on tumor markers, hormone level, etc.
Due to the extensive diagnostic capabilities of modern oncology, it is possible to identify follicular cancer already at the initial stage of its formation, which only increases the patient's chances of a favorable outcome of the disease.
Treatment of
The question of the approach to the treatment of follicular oncology of the thyroid gland causes a lot of controversy among doctors.
Many experts hold the opinion that in the absence of metastasis and small amounts of education, it is quite enough traditional removal of the tumor and the ferruginous lobe on which it was formed. This approach has shown good results in practice many times, providing a full cure.
However, this approach to therapy also has its opponents claiming that complete removal of the thyroid gland together with education is necessary to finally get rid of follicular cancer. Their theory, they reinforce a low probability of relapse with total thyroectomy.
Usually, the treatment process begins with an operation, the scale of which depends on the degree of oncoprocess.
If there are metastases in bone and pulmonary structures, then irradiation is applied, which can be carried out either externally or internally.
External irradiation involves exposure to the cervical region with the help of a specialized device. Internal irradiation is carried out by introducing radioactive drugs placed in specialized capsules into thyroid tissue.
When the capsule dissolves, the radioactive elements begin to destroy the tumor cells.
Forecast of follicular thyroid cancer
In the predominant majority of cases, the prognosis of follicular thyroid cancer has quite promising predictions, although the end result depends on the stage at which the treatment was started.
With a tumor no more than a centimeter, a 10-year survival rate is about 50%, if there are no metastases, then about 80% of cancer patients can survive for another two decades.
But if the follicular cancer began to actively spread metastases, then 10-year survival does not reach 20%.
Video about follicular thyroid cancer in children: