The following are the major diseases or complications that may be contributed to by thyroid carcinoma (thyroid cancer):
Endocrine, nutritional, and metabolic diseases (E00-E90).
- Myxedema – pasty (puffy; bloated) skin that shows nonpushable, doughy edema (swelling) that is not positional; occurring primarily on the lower legs
Neoplasms – tumor diseases (C00-D48).
- Malignant melanoma (primary melanoma) (16.2-fold standardized incidence rate as the ratio of observed to expected tumor incidence).
- Breast carcinoma (breast cancer; 18% increased risk).
- Metastasis
- Hematogenous (via the bloodstream) – primarily to the lungs and bones; in follicular thyroid carcinoma* .
- Lymphogenic metastasis (via the lymphatic pathway) – especially in papillary thyroid carcinoma* .
* Differentiated thyroid carcinoma includes follicular and papillary carcinomas. Brain metastases occur in 0.9% of all differentiated thyroid carcinomas (median survival less than one year).
Prognostic factors
- Young age of onset (<40 years) is a risk factor for progression in patients with papillary thyroid carcinoma
