Thyroid cancer
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Thyroid cancer
Endocrine system
Adrenal gland disorders
Congenital adrenal hyperplasia
Primary adrenal insufficiency
Waterhouse-Friderichsen syndrome
Hyperaldosteronism
Adrenal cortical carcinoma
Cushing syndrome
Conn syndrome
Thyroid gland disorders
Thyroglossal duct cyst
Hyperthyroidism
Graves disease
Thyroid eye disease (NORD)
Toxic multinodular goiter
Thyroid storm
Hypothyroidism
Euthyroid sick syndrome
Hashimoto thyroiditis
Subacute granulomatous thyroiditis
Riedel thyroiditis
Postpartum thyroiditis
Thyroid cancer
Parathyroid gland disorders
Hyperparathyroidism
Hypoparathyroidism
Hypercalcemia
Hypocalcemia
Pancreatic disorders
Diabetes mellitus
Diabetic retinopathy
Diabetic nephropathy
Pituitary gland disorders
Hyperpituitarism
Pituitary adenoma
Hyperprolactinemia
Prolactinoma
Gigantism
Acromegaly
Hypopituitarism
Growth hormone deficiency
Pituitary apoplexy
Sheehan syndrome
Hypoprolactinemia
Constitutional growth delay
Diabetes insipidus
Syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone secretion (SIADH)
Gonadal dysfunction
Precocious puberty
Delayed puberty
Premature ovarian failure
Polycystic ovary syndrome
Androgen insensitivity syndrome
Kallmann syndrome
5-alpha-reductase deficiency
Polyglandular syndromes
Autoimmune polyglandular syndrome type 1 (NORD)
Endocrine tumors
Multiple endocrine neoplasia
Pancreatic neuroendocrine neoplasms
Zollinger-Ellison syndrome
Carcinoid syndrome
Pheochromocytoma
Neuroblastoma
Opsoclonus myoclonus syndrome (NORD)
Endocrine system pathology review
Adrenal insufficiency: Pathology review
Adrenal masses: Pathology review
Hyperthyroidism: Pathology review
Hypothyroidism: Pathology review
Thyroid nodules and thyroid cancer: Pathology review
Parathyroid disorders and calcium imbalance: Pathology review
Diabetes mellitus: Pathology review
Cushing syndrome and Cushing disease: Pathology review
Pituitary tumors: Pathology review
Hypopituitarism: Pathology review
Diabetes insipidus and SIADH: Pathology review
Multiple endocrine neoplasia: Pathology review
Neuroendocrine tumors of the gastrointestinal system: Pathology review
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2016
Thyroid cancer p. 349
amyloidosis in p. 216
associations p. 729
carcinogens in p. 223
goiter p. 348
metastases to p. 224
Psammoma bodies in p. 225
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Transcript
Contributors
Sam Gillespie, BSc
Tanner Marshall, MS
Pauline Rowsome, BSc (Hons)
The thyroid gland is an endocrine gland in the neck that produces thyroid hormones.
If the cells of the thyroid gland start to divide uncontrollably, then that’s considered a thyroid cancer.
Normally, the hypothalamus, which is located at the base of the brain, secretes thyrotropin-releasing hormone, or ΤRH, into the hypophyseal portal system - which is a network of capillaries linking the hypothalamus to the anterior pituitary.
The anterior pituitary then releases a hormone of its own, called thyroid-stimulating hormone, thyrotropin or simply TSH.
TSH stimulates the thyroid gland which is a gland located in the neck that looks like two thumbs hooked together in the shape of a “V”.
The entire gland is covered in a thin, tough membrane called the fibrous capsule.
If we zoom into the thyroid gland, we’ll find thousands of follicles, which are small hollow spheres whose walls are lined with follicular cells, and are separated by a small amount of connective tissue.
Follicular cells convert thyroglobulin, a protein found in follicles, into two iodine-containing hormones, triiodothyronine or T3, and thyroxine or T4.
Once released from the thyroid gland, these hormones enter the blood and bind to circulating plasma proteins.
Only a small amount of T3 and T4 will travel unbound in the blood, and these two hormones get picked up by nearly every cell in the body.
Once inside the cell T4 is mostly converted into T3, and it can exert its effect. T3 speeds up the basal metabolic rate.
So as an example, they might produce more proteins and burn up more energy in the form of sugars and fats. It’s as if the cells are in a bit of frenzy.
T3 increases cardiac output, stimulates bone resorption - thinning out the bones, and activates the sympathetic nervous system, the part of the nervous system responsible for our ‘fight-or-flight’ response.
Summary
Thyroid cancer is a type of cancer that develops in the cells of the thyroid gland, specifically from follicular cells or C cells. There are three main types of thyroid cancer: differentiated, medullary, and anaplastic.
In differentiated thyroid cancer, the cancer arises from follicular cells, and it's known as differentiated because the cancer cells look and act like normal thyroid cells. Medullary carcinoma arise from the C-cells of the thyroid which produce calcitonin, whereas anaplastic carcinomas are named so because they have altered cells that don't look anything like normal thyroid cells. Symptoms of thyroid cancer can include a lump or swelling in the neck, pain in the neck or throat, difficulty swallowing or breathing, hoarseness, and a persistent cough. The treatment of thyroid cancer depends mostly on the type of cancer and how it has spread. Options
Sources
- "Robbins Basic Pathology" Elsevier (2017)
- "Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine, Twentieth Edition (Vol.1 & Vol.2)" McGraw-Hill Education / Medical (2018)
- "Pathophysiology of Disease: An Introduction to Clinical Medicine 8E" McGraw-Hill Education / Medical (2018)
- "CURRENT Medical Diagnosis and Treatment 2020" McGraw-Hill Education / Medical (2019)
- "Harrison's Endocrinology, 4E" McGraw-Hill Education / Medical (2016)
- "The thyroid cancer epidemic, 2017 perspective" Current Opinion in Endocrinology & Diabetes and Obesity (2017)
- "The Systemic Amyloidoses" New England Journal of Medicine (1997)
- "Heterogeneity of Thyroid Cancer" Pathobiology (2018)
- "Thyroid cancer epidemiology in England and Wales: time trends and geographical distribution" British Journal of Cancer (1993)
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