The thyroid gland is a small, butterfly-shaped endocrine gland that produces hormones to help the body use energy, stay warm and keep the brain, heart, muscles and other organs working properly. The thyroid also regulates blood pressure, heart rate and body weight. Thyroid cancer is rare compared with other forms of cancer. In the U.S. in 2010, an estimated 45,000 patients were diagnosed with thyroid cancer, compared with the 200,000 patients who were diagnosed with breast cancer and 140,000 patients diagnosed with colon cancer. However, unlike these other forms of cancer, fewer than 2,000 patients die from thyroid cancer each year because thyroid tumors are generally treatable and can be eliminated with surgical removal and radioactive iodine. The number of men and women with newly diagnosed thyroid cancer is increasing at a rate faster than other forms of cancer, although the outlook for those patients is usually very good.

What Are the Risk Factors?

While the spike in new diagnoses is still unknown, it is believed that advancing technologies play a role in doctors being able to spot smaller, previously undetectable thyroid tumors. There are several risk factors associated with thyroid tumors. Mayo Clinic describes these factors as:

Being Female: Thyroid cancer occurs much more often in women than in men, and onset is earlier. For women, the average age of diagnosis is 40s to 50s, whereas for men, it is 50s to 60s.

Exposure to High Levels of Radiation: Patients who have had radiation treatment to the head and neck or those exposed to fallout from nuclear power plant accidents or weapons testing are at a greater risk of developing thyroid cancer.

Inherited Genetic Syndromes: Several inherited syndromes increase the risk of thyroid cancer, including familiar medullary thyroid cancer, multiple endocrine neoplasia and familial adenomatous polyposis.

Many patients develop thyroid nodules that often are benign and harmless. However, the only way to determine whether or not a thyroid tumor is benign or malignant is to perform a biopsy of the cells in the nodule so that they can be examined under a microscope.