Read article Types of thyroid cancer
This page tells you about the types of thyroid cancer. There are 4 main types and a rare type (lymphoma) and this page has information about
Types of thyroid cancer
There are several types of thyroid cancer The most common type is papillary thyroid cancer. It is more common in women, and usually diagnosed in younger people. This type of cancer usually grows slowly. But it can spread to lymph nodes in the neck or nearby.
Follicular thyroid cancer is most often diagnosed in young or middle aged people. It sometimes spreads to other parts of the body. If it does spread, it most often goes to the lungs or bones.
Medullary thyroid cancer is quite rare. About a quarter of these cancers (25%) are caused by a faulty gene running in the family. Medullary thyroid cancer can also spread to the lungs or bones.
About 1 in 6 thyroid cancers are the anaplastic type. These are usually diagnosed in older people, and are more common in women. They tend to grow more quickly than other types of thyroid cancer.
Very rare types of thyroid cancer include non Hodgkin lymphoma of the thyroid and Hurthle cell cancer of the thyroid.
You can view and print the quick guides for all the pages in the About thyroid cancer section.
Your doctor will tell the type of thyroid cancer you have by taking a small sample of cells from the thyroid (a biopsy). A pathologist examines the cells in the laboratory under a microscope. The cells look different, depending on the type of cancer you have. Sometimes doctors group papillary and follicular types together as differentiated thyroid cancer. This just means that the cells have some features of normal thyroid gland cells.
This is the most common type of thyroid cancer. About 6 out of 10 thyroid cancers diagnosed are papillary (60%). This type is more common in women. It is usually diagnosed in younger people and is usually slow growing. But it can sometimes spread to lymph nodes in the neck or close to the thyroid.
This type of thyroid cancer is most often diagnosed in young or middle aged people. About 3 out of every 20 thyroid cancers diagnosed are this type (15%). Follicular thyroid cancer sometimes spreads to other parts of the body. If it does spread, it most often goes to the lungs or bones.
This is a rare type of thyroid cancer. Between 1 in 10 and 1 in 20 of all thyroid cancers diagnosed are this type (5 to 10%). About a quarter (25%) of medullary thyroid cancers are caused by an inherited faulty gene which runs in the family. Medullary thyroid cancer can spread to the lungs or bones.
About 1 out of every 20 thyroid cancers diagnosed are this type (5%). Anaplastic thyroid cancer is usually diagnosed in older people. About 3 out of every 4 people diagnosed with anaplastic thyroid cancer (75%) are over 60 years old. Anaplastic thyroid cancer is most common in women. It tends to grow more quickly than other types of thyroid cancer.
It is possible to get a non Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) of the thyroid gland. This is a very rare condition. If you have been diagnosed with this type of cancer, look at the NHL section. The NHL section tells you about the treatment for non Hodgkin lymphoma.
There is also a rare type called Hürthle cell cancer of the thyroid gland. We have information about Hürthle cell thyroid cancer in the questions and answers section.
Rated 4 out of 5 based on 4 votes
- Share this: Tweet
-
-
- Print this page
-
Email this page
Increase text size
Decrease text size
Print page
Print basket
Save pages here and print in one go
Nurse helpline
Questions about cancer? Call freephone
0808 800 4040
or email us
