Thyroid cancer Thyroid cancer Thyroid cancer is cancer that develops from the tissues of the thyroid gland. It is a disease in which cells grow abnormally and have the potential to spread to other parts of the body. Symptoms can include swelling or a lump in the neck. Cancer can also occur in the thyroid after spread from other locations, in which case it is not classified as thyroid cancer. Risk factors include radiation exposure at a young age, having an enlarged thyroid, and family history. There are four main types – papillary thyroid cancer, follicular thyroid cancer, medullary thyroid cancer, and
Thyroid is the production of the iodine-containing thyroid hormones, triiodothyronine (T) and thyroxine (T) and the peptide hormone calcitonin. T is so named because it contains three atoms of iodine per molecule and T contains four atoms of iodine per molecule. The thyroid hormones have a wide range of effects on the human body. These include: After secretion, only a very small proportion of the thyroid hormones travel freely in the blood. Most are bound to thyroxine-binding globulin (about 70%), transthyretin (10%), and albumin (15%). Only the 0.03% of T and 0.3% of T traveling freely have hormonal activity. In addition,