Women's new favorite cancer, you must not have it

"In recent years, the incidence of thyroid cancer has increased year by year and has become the fastest-growing malignant tumor among female cancers in China, with an incidence rate three times that of men."

At present, there are still many citizens who have misunderstandings about thyroid cancer that need to be identified. For example, they believe that thyroid cancer is caused by iodized salt, and that thyroid nodules found in life must be removed immediately to avoid malignant changes.

Why does thyroid cancer favor women three times more often? Young and middle-aged people are most likely to be infected

The thyroid gland is an important endocrine organ in the human body, secreting hormones that control metabolism-related factors such as heart rate, blood pressure, body temperature and weight. Thyroid cancer is a common malignant endocrine tumor of the head and neck that develops from thyroid follicular cells, accounting for about 5% of the total number of malignant tumors in the body. It ranks first among the malignant tumors of the head and neck.

It is more common in young and middle-aged people, and is common in people aged 45-54 years old. The incidence rate in women is three times higher than that in men.

Why are women "favored" by thyroid cancer?

"Among the risk factors that induce thyroid cancer, women are more likely to be 'infected' than men. Generally, the spontaneous rate of thyroid cancer is low, but the incidence rate rises rapidly under the influence of ionizing radiation, especially in young women. Studies have shown that women are more susceptible to thyroid radiation than men.

In addition, epidemiological studies have shown that menarche, childbirth, taking oral contraceptives (i.e. exogenous estrogen), obesity, irregular menstruation in women, early age of first pregnancy, and a history of gynecological diseases may all be risk factors for thyroid cancer.

Does iodized salt cause thyroid cancer?

Regarding the issue of iodized salt that many people are currently worried about, epidemiological surveys have found that both excessive iodine intake and iodine deficiency may cause thyroid cancer, but the iodine content in the national standard iodized salt consumed daily is normal and will not lead to excessive iodine intake in the human body. Netizens do not need to panic blindly.

Thyroid cancer may not cause any symptoms in the early stage. Whether the nodule will become malignant depends on its nature.

Many people believe that they need to pay attention to whether it is caused by thyroid cancer only after a lump appears in the neck. The early clinical symptoms of thyroid cancer are not obvious, and it is not until the late stage that various symptoms may appear, including hoarseness, difficulty swallowing, and pain in the ears, neck, shoulders, etc. It is not recommended to identify it based on whether the cervical lymph nodes are enlarged or lumps appear.

Currently, most patients are diagnosed with the disease accidentally through thyroid ultrasound examinations during their annual routine physical examinations. The improvement of imaging examination technology and frequency has increased the detection rate of thyroid cancer, and more and more thyroid nodules have been detected accordingly. With current ultrasound technology, nodules as small as 3 mm can be detected. More and more people are coming to outpatient thyroid clinics, and more and more are suffering from thyroid phobia. ”

More than 80% of thyroid cancer patients can achieve long-term survival

The mortality rate of thyroid cancer is very low, and more than 80% of thyroid cancer patients have the possibility of long-term survival or even cure. It is reported that there are four major types of thyroid cancer: papillary carcinoma, follicular adenocarcinoma, medullary carcinoma and undifferentiated carcinoma. The first two are differentiated tumors with low malignancy and are not so harmful to the human body. Therefore, they have a better prognosis and account for 85% of thyroid cancer patients. Once differentiated thyroid cancer is diagnosed, surgery is the only chance of cure, and early treatment causes the least harm to the body.