Thyroid cancer

Injury	Disease	Nutrition	Poison

Symptoms	Surgery	Test	Special Topic

Endocrine glands

Thyroid cancer - CT scan

Thyroid gland

Overview

Symptoms

Treatment

Prevention

Thyroid cancer

Alternative Names:

Tumor - thyroid; Cancer - thyroid

Symptoms:

Enlargement or a nodule of the thyroid gland or neck swelling
Hoarseness or changing voice
Cough or cough with bleeding
Difficulty swallowing

Note: Symptoms may vary depending on the type of thyroid cancer

Signs and tests:

A physical examination can reveal a thyroid mass or nodule (usually in the lower part of the front of the neck) or enlarged lymph nodes in the neck.

Tests that indicate thyroid cancer:

Thyroid biopsy showing anaplastic, follicular, medullary or papillary carcinoma cells
Ultrasound of the thyroid revealing nodule
Thyroid scan showing cold nodule (a nodule that does not light up on scan)
Laryngoscopy showing paralyzed vocal cords
Elevated serum calcitonin (for medullary cancer) or serum thyroglobulin (for papillary or follicular cancer)

This disease may also alter the results of the following tests:

Review Date: 5/3/2004
Reviewed By: Stephen Grund, M.D., Ph.D., Chief of Hematology & Oncology and Director of the George Bray Cancer Center at New Britain General Hospital, New Britain, CT. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.

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