Thyroid Cancer News and Research

Does Underactive Thyroid Lead To Weight Gain—Or Vice-Versa?

10/04/2016 - New research shows that excess weight may be slowing down the thyroid, instead of a slow thyroid making it easy to pack on the pounds, says Cari Kitahara, PhD, MHS, an epidemiologist at the National Cancer Institute who presented her findings on obesity, thyroid function and weight at the 86th annual meeting of the American Thyroid Association in Denver Sept. 24.

Thyroid Cancer: Epidemic or Overdiagnosis?

09/23/2016 - Many experts are now saying that not everyone with thyroid cancer may need immediate treatment—or any treatment at all—according to a Mayo Clinic expert speaking at the opening session of the American Thyroid Associaiton's 86th annual meeting in Denver.

Common Thyroid Tumor Downgraded to Non-Cancerous

04/20/2016 - An international panel of pathologists and clinicians has decided to rename a type of thyroid tumor—until now deemed malignant—as non-cancerous.

For Best Thyroid Surgery Results, Pick Doctor With 25-Plus Cases a Year

03/22/2016 - Patients who need to have their thyroid gland removed, due to cancer or other conditions, should seek out a surgeon who performs more than 25 such operations each year, according to new research.

Radioactive iodine therapy can improve survival for thyroid cancer patients with bone tumors

10/17/2011 - Thyroid cancer that has spread throughout the body can dramatically worsen a patient's prognosis, but new research suggests that in the case of bone metastases, radioactive iodine (I-131) therapy may be a reliable treatment.

Ectopic thyroid cancer is rare, but not beyond the realm of possibility

10/05/2011 - In infrequent cases, clumps of thyroid cells can develop from birth in bodily sites other than the gland itself. Called ectopic thyroid, this tissue is subject to cancer just like any other organ, leading in rare instances to ectopic thyroid cancer (ETC).

Too little blood-borne adiponectin may boost risk of thyroid cancer

10/03/2011 - Research conducted by a team of Greek and American endocrinologists has revealed that too little of the metabolic protein adiponectin in the blood may increase the likelihood of thyroid cancer, while higher levels may entail a lower-than-average risk of the disease.

PTEN hamartoma tumor syndrome boosts risk of thyroid cancer, even in childhood

09/29/2011 - Among people with phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) hamartoma tumor syndrome (PHTS), the lifetime risk of developing thyroid cancer is much higher - even in childhood, according to a recent set of case studies.

Fine-needle biopsy can accurately diagnose thyroid cancer in large nodules

09/21/2011 - Having a large thyroid nodule does not necessarily indicate the presence of thyroid cancer, but physicians often recommend the use of an ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) in order to determine whether such a growth is benign or malignant.

Diabetes increases late-life risk of thyroid cancer

09/19/2011 - While previous studies have suggested that diabetes increases a person's lifetime risk of developing thyroid cancer, a new report has announced that this association appears to hold true for retirement-age Americans.

How prevalent is thyroid cancer in the U.S.?

09/15/2011 - Though it may seem like an easy disease to track, thyroid cancer can be relatively subtle, requiring oncologists and epidemiologists to analyze reams of data in the effort to pin down its prevalence.

CSI: NY actor opens up about the personal, financial costs of thyroid cancer

09/07/2011 - After discovering he had thyroid cancer, actor Hill Harper decided to record his thoughts and frustrations about health, finances and family in a new book, titled The Wealth Cure.

Article reviews rare cardiac metastases of thyroid cancer

08/17/2011 - Even among the most virulent types of metastatic thyroid cancer, the carcinoma is very unlikely to migrate to the heart, which is why a team of Australian researchers recently compiled a list of all cardiac metastases of thyroid tumors (CMTTs) recorded in the last 130 years.

Case study examines spread of papillary thyroid cancer to bones

08/12/2011 - Papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) is generally considered the most benign of all thyroid carcinomas, with a low risk of metastasis, which is one reason why a researcher from Georgetown University published a case study of a patient whose PTC was found to have spread to many skeletal sites in her body.

Rifle shooting ace qualifies for Olympics after recovering from thyroid cancer

07/19/2011 -

Age, tumor size affect metastasis, prognosis for patients with follicular thyroid cancer

07/18/2011 - Though it is not the most virulent form of thyroid carcinoma, follicular thyroid cancer (FTC) is more likely than the papillary variety to spread to distant sites in the body, which is one reason why Japanese researchers recently analyzed the factors affecting the metastasis of FTC.

Reoperation for persistent papillary thyroid cancer is relatively effective

07/07/2011 - Though it is a fairly non-aggressive form of the disease, papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) occasionally reappears in the lymph nodes of the neck following a thyroidectomy, which is why a team of Korean researchers recently assessed the viability of reoperating for persistent PTC.

Parathyroid tissue glows brighter than thyroid cancer under near-infrared light

07/05/2011 - Surgeons often complain about how difficult it is to leave the parathyroid glands intact while removing thyroid cancer or lymph nodes from the neck, but a recent study suggested a novel way to spot them.

Study analyzes metastases of medullary thyroid cancer

06/20/2011 - Public health authorities are aware of the most common sites of medullary thyroid cancer (MTC) metastases, but a new study from France's Institut Gustave Roussy and the University Hospital in Tours has tabulated the prevalence of the more unusual sites to which the disease can spread.

Sprinter stays positive after treatment for papillary thyroid cancer

06/09/2011 - Though he was redshirted with a foot injury in 2010 and diagnosed with papillary thyroid cancer in December of that year, collegiate sprinter Jeff Gudaitis has been recovering well and staying positive.

Protein tests predict recurrence of papillary or follicular thyroid cancer

06/03/2011 - Some experts are unsure of the ability of protein-based tests to predict the return of thyroid carcinomas, which is why a team of scientists recently monitored the recurrence of papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) or follicular thyroid cancer (FTC) among patients given serum thyroglobulin (Tg) assays.

Study of thyroid cancer in Italy points to better surveillance, not higher incidence

06/01/2011 - A survey of 15 years' worth of data mined from Italy's cancer registries has found that though diagnoses of the disease have increased over time, this surge appears to be due mainly to improvements in medical surveillance and tumor detection.

Thyroid cancer co-occurs with Hashimoto's thyroiditis more often than with Graves' disease

05/24/2011 - Individuals with autoimmune thyroid diseases tend to have a higher risk of developing cancer of the gland, which is one reason why researchers at Japan's Ito Hospital recently tabulated the incidence of thyroid tumors among patients with Graves' disease (GD) or Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT).

Scientists explore how thyroid cancer metastasizes, often staying dormant for years

05/23/2011 - Distant metastases of thyroid cancer can dramatically reduce a patient's likelihood of survival, which is one reason why a scientist at the Ohio State University College of Medicine recently reviewed the current clinical understanding of how thyroid carcinoma cells migrate.

Macrocephaly points to likelihood of PTEN mutation in follicular thyroid cancer patients

05/20/2011 - Among people with a mutation of a particular gene called PTEN, the rate of differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) is between 3 and 10 percent, but until recently, researchers had not tabulated how many patients with follicular thyroid cancer (FTC) typically display the mutation.