Whenever thyroid tumors are mentioned, many people cannot help but worry whether thyroid tumors are really dangerous. The following article will help readers have a more accurate view of thyroid tumors. Therefore, please follow this article.

What is thyroid tumor?

The thyroid gland is one of the body’s important endocrine glands, responsible for producing, storing, and releasing 2 hormones T3 and T4 into the blood, thereby helping the metabolism and metabolism to take place normally. So what is thyroid tumor?

Medical experts point out that thyroid tumors occur when a mass of tissue or cells proliferates excessively, causing localized mass damage in the thyroid gland. This tumor not only changes the mechanism of operation and function of the thyroid gland, but also causes loss of aesthetics for the patient.

Statistics show that anyone can get thyroid tumors, however, the rate of thyroid tumors in women is about 5 times higher than in men and this rate increases with age.

Thyroid tumors can be single or multiple and in the early stages, the tumor is quite small, making it difficult for the patient to feel the tumor by hand. Studies show that most thyroid tumors are solid, only about 15 – 20% of tumors are liquid.

A question arises: Are thyroid tumors dangerous?

Clinically, thyroid tumors are classified into 2 main types including benign thyroid tumors and malignant thyroid tumors.

• Benign thyroid tumors originate from the inner lining cell layer of the thyroid gland, capable of producing large amounts of thyroid hormone. If not intervened early and promptly, it can cause hyperthyroidism.
• Malignant thyroid tumors have a very low incidence, but this is a dangerous disease and has a high risk of progressing to cancer. However, if thyroid tumors are detected and treated promptly, the survival rate is still very high, up to 90%.

It can be seen that thyroid tumors are one of the diseases with a very good prognosis. The important factor that determines the level of danger of this disease is the time and stage at which the patient discovers that he or she has thyroid tumors.

Thyroid tumors are one of the most common thyroid diseases today.

Causes of thyroid tumors

Up to now, scientists have not yet determined the exact cause of thyroid tumors, but some factors that increase the risk of thyroid tumors include:

• Genetics: Your risk of developing thyroid tumors is higher than normal if a family member has previously had thyroid tumors.
• Gender and age: Statistics show that women have a higher risk of developing thyroid tumors than men of the same age. In addition, the older you are, the higher the risk of developing thyroid tumors.
• Radioactive and toxic substances: Frequent exposure to toxic and radioactive substances will also cause genetic mutations, affecting the properties and function of the thyroid gland, thereby increasing the risk of thyroid tumors.
• Iodine deficiency or excess: In fact, iodine deficiency or excess increases the risk of thyroid diseases, including thyroid tumors. Too much iodine supplementation will cause hyperthyroidism and conversely, not enough iodine supplementation will cause hypothyroidism.
• Previous thyroid diseases: People who are suffering from thyroid diseases such as thyroid cysts, thyroiditis, etc. are at high risk of thyroid tumors.
• Immune system impairment: The body’s immune system is disrupted and weakened, which is one of the stepping stones for pathogens to invade, attack and cause diseases, including thyroid tumors.
• Other factors: People who are overweight or obese, regularly drink alcohol, smoke, have an unhealthy lifestyle, etc. are also factors that increase the risk of thyroid tumors.

Iodine deficiency or excess is a factor that increases the risk of thyroid cancer.

Symptoms of thyroid tumors

Benign thyroid tumors often have no obvious symptoms in the early stages. Symptoms are only obvious when the tumor has grown large and invaded and compressed nearby organs. At this time, the patient may have to face some symptoms such as:

• A tumor appears in the neck area, which can be recognized by observation or palpation.
• The tumor compresses the trachea and esophagus, making it difficult for the patient to breathe and swallow.
• The patient may have a prolonged dry cough with hoarseness.

In cases where the thyroid tumor produces too much thyroid hormone, the patient will experience some symptoms of hyperthyroidism such as:

• Anxiety, rapid heartbeat;
• Chest pain, shortness of breath;
• Weight loss;
• Hand tremors;
• Abnormal sweating;
• Sleep disorders;
• Fatigue and irritability.

The above thyroid tumor symptoms can also be warning signs of other diseases. Therefore, to get an accurate diagnosis as well as timely and effective treatment, when detecting unusual changes in the body, you need to immediately go to a reputable medical facility for examination.

Difficulty swallowing is one of the warning signs of thyroid tumors.

Diagnosis and treatment of thyroid tumors

Early diagnosis and appropriate treatment methods help to bring about optimal treatment results, helping patients recover quickly.

Diagnosis of thyroid tumors

Initial assessment of patients with thyroid tumors includes taking a medical history, performing clinical examinations, performing paraclinical tests and thyroid ultrasound to determine the characteristics and properties of the thyroid tumor.

After ultrasound detects a thyroid tumor or thyroid nodule, to increase the accuracy of cytological testing, the doctor will order fine needle aspiration of the thyroid tumor under ultrasound guidance to determine whether the tumor is benign or malignant, thereby providing appropriate monitoring and treatment. In some cases, the doctor may order the patient to undergo genetic testing, tissue elastography, CT, MRI and FDG – PET/CT.

Thyroid tumor treatment

Based on the diagnosis results, determining whether the thyroid tumor is benign or malignant, the characteristics, properties and location of the tumor, the doctors will choose the appropriate treatment method.

If the thyroid tumor is diagnosed as benign, the patient does not need treatment if the tumor is small and does not affect health. At this time, what the patient needs to do is to have regular check-ups to monitor the development of the tumor. In the case of a large tumor, causing compression of organs and affecting health, the patient can choose the method of radiofrequency ablation to reduce the size of the tumor or surgery to remove the tumor.

In the case of a malignant thyroid tumor, the doctors will need to diagnose further to consider which treatment method is appropriate because the treatment of malignant tumors is more difficult and complicated than benign tumors.

Above is the basic information about thyroid tumors that we have compiled to share with readers. Hopefully, with the sharing in today’s article, it will help readers have the most accurate view of thyroid tumors. Please regularly update your health care articles.