Types of thyroid cancer
Healthcare providers generally classify thyroid cancer depending on the type of cells from which it grows. Some of the most common types of thyroid cancer are:
Papillary: More than 80% of this type of cancer is papillary. This particular type of cancer grows rather slowly over time. Even if papillary thyroid cancer often spreads to lymph nodes in your neck, the disease mainly responds quite well to treatment. Papillary thyroid cancer is also very curable and rarely fatal.
Follicular: Follicular thyroid cancer accounts for more than 15% of thyroid cancer diagnoses. This type of cancer is way more likely to spread to your bones and organs, for instance, your lungs. Metastatic cancer (the one that spreads) could be even more challenging to treat.
Medullary: Around 2% of thyroid cancers are actually medullary. A quarter of people with medullary thyroid cancer might have a family history of the disease. Moreover, a faulty gene (also known as a genetic mutation) might be to blame for that.
Anaplastic: This type of aggressive thyroid cancer is actually the hardest one to treat. It rapidly grows and spreads into surrounding tissue and other parts of the body. It’s also a rare cancer type that accounts for 2% of thyroid cancer diagnoses.
