What is Well-Differentiated Thyroid Cancer?
A cancer is a malignant tumor which grows in the body. A well-differentiated cancer is one which superficially looks like the normal parent tissue, in this case the thyroid gland. There are two types of well-differentiated thyroid cancer, papillary and follicular, both derived from the normal thyroid cell, the follicular cell. Well-differentiated thyroid cancers account for about 90% of all thyroid malignancies and most are associated with an excellent outlook. Although we do not know exactly what causes these well-differentiated cancers to grow, we do know that they are more likely to develop in patients who have received x-ray treatments in childhood for enlarged tonsils, enlarged thymus glands, acne, and occasionally for other malignancies such as Hodgkin’s disease. An important epidemic of papillary carcinoma developed in the region surrounding Chernobyl after the nuclear power plant melt-down. Routine diagnostic x-rays (like chest x-rays, dental x-rays, or thyroid scans) do not ca
