There is more than one type of cancer for each organ
Dear Dr. Roach: My husband recently died from anaplastic thyroid cancer. I always thought thyroid cancer was one of the most successfully treated cancers. Could you explain the difference between anaplastic thyroid cancer and regular thyroid cancer? — M.A.S.
Dear M.A.S.: Nearly all organs can have multiple types of cancer. Cancers vary by the cell type they start from and by how closely they resemble their original cell. In the case of thyroid cancers, those that are well-differentiated have a good prognosis. Because well-differentiated thyroid cancer cells still behave to some extent like normal thyroid cells, they will take up iodine. Radioactive iodine is an effective treatment, and often used after surgery. People can still die from conditions that have a very good prognosis, and ANY cancer diagnosis leads to fear and disruption of one’s life.
Anaplastic thyroid cancers don’t look much like thyroid tissue at all. The cancer cells grow uncontrolled. They are resistant to chemotherapy and radiation, and they don’t take up iodine like healthy thyroid cells or well-differentiated thyroid cancers. They spread early to other organs, especially the lungs, but also to the bone, brain or other sites. As such, the mortality rate from anaplastic thyroid cancer approaches 100%, and half of people diagnosed will succumb within three to seven months. There are chemotherapy treatments that can slow down the growth, but we desperately need better treatments.
Fortunately, anaplastic thyroid cancer is rare, only one or two cases per million people per year.
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