The thyroid gland is a butterfly-shaped endocrine gland that is located in the lower front of the neck. It makes thyroid hormones which help the body use energy, stay warm and keep the brain, heart, muscle and other organs work as they should.
甲状腺是位于颈部下方的蝴蝶形内分泌腺。 它分泌的甲状腺激素有助于身体使用能量，维持体温，保持大脑，心脏，肌肉等器官的运作。
Thyroid cancer is a rare type of cancer. It can occur at any age group, although most common after age of 30 years and its aggressiveness increases significantly in older patients. Women are 2-3 times more likely to develop it than men.
甲状腺癌是一种罕见的癌症。 它可以发生在任何年龄层，而在30岁以上最常见，其侵略性在老年患者中显着增加。 妇女患有此病的可能性是男性的2-3倍。
Thyroid cancer does not always cause symptoms, often the first sign is a thyroid nodule/neck lump. Some other signs & symptoms are neck pain, difficulty in breathing/swallowing or “tickle in the “throat” (nodule large enough to compress windpipe or esophagus), hoarseness of voice (cancer invades nerve that controls vocal cord) and enlarged lymph nodes.
甲状腺癌并不常引起症状，往往第一个症状是甲状腺结核/颈部肿块。 其他症状例如颈部疼痛，呼吸/吞咽困难或“喉咙痒”（结核大到足以压缩气管或食管），声音嘶哑（癌症侵略控制声带的神经）和淋巴结扩大。
Blood tests generally do not help to find thyroid cancer. Neck examination by a doctor is a common way to detect thyroid cancer. Often, they are discovered incidentally on imaging tests like neck ultrasound and CT scan. Diagnosis is by Fine Needle Aspiration Biopsy.
血液检查通常无助于检测甲状腺癌。 通过医生检查颈部是检测甲状腺癌的常见方法。 通常，人们是在做颈部超声波扫描和断层扫描测试中才愕然发现的。 标准的诊断方式是细针穿刺活检。
Fewer than 1% of all thyroid nodules are malignant (cancerous).
甲状腺结核中只有不到1％是恶性的。
There are 4 main types of thyroid cancer:
甲状腺癌可以分成四个种类：
1) Papillary thyroid cancer 乳头状甲状腺癌: 80%
– Any age, mostly > 40 years old, especially women
可发生于任何年龄层，大多数发生在40岁以上，特别是女性
– Most curable 可治愈
2) Follicular thyroid cancer 滤泡性甲状腺癌: 15%
– Middle aged adults, especially women 发生于中年，特别是女性
– Most curable 可治愈
3) Medullary thyroid cancer髓质性甲状腺癌: 3%
– 25% runs in families & is associated with other endocrine tumors
25％发生在家族病史中，并与其他内分泌肿瘤有关
– Worse prognosis than the above 1) and 2)
比上述1）和 2) 的治愈性低
4) Anaplastic thyroid cancer 简变性甲状腺癌: 2%
– Most advanced & aggressive and very rare 癌症级数最高，侵略性高和非常罕见
– Usually those > 60 years of age 发生在60岁以上
– Incurable in most cases 多数情况下不能治愈
It is not usually clear about causes thyroid cancer but risk factors are:
甲状腺癌的病因通常不明确，但风险因素是：
1) A family history of thyroid cancer (especially first-degree relative)
甲状腺癌家族史（特别是一级亲属关系）
2) Radiation exposure in childhood – such as radiotherapy
幼年期间暴露于辐射中 – 如放射治疗
3) A diet low in iodine 低碘饮食
4) A bowel condition called Familial Adenomatous Polyposis (FAP) 家族性腺瘤性息肉病
5) Other thyroid conditions such as inflammed thyroid (thyroiditis) or goiter but not overactive or underactive thyroid
其他甲状腺疾病如甲状腺炎，但不包括过度活跃和不活跃的甲状腺功能
Treatments are: 治疗方法：
1) Surgery 手术
2) Radioactive iodine treatment 放射性碘治疗
3) Radiotherapy 放射治疗
4) Chemotherapy 化疗
