Thyroid cancer occurs in the thyroid gland. It is a butterfly shaped gland which is located in the base of the neck. The thyroid gland produces a hormone known as thyroxine that regulates blood pressure, heart rate, body temperature, and weight. Although this form of cancer is not common in our country, there has been a rise in the same the recent years.

Causes and types of thyroid cancer
It occurs when the thyroid cells in the gland undergoes genetic changes which are called as mutations. The mutations causes malignant cells to grow and multiply exponentially, causing normal cells to die. The abnormal cells form a tumor and invade the nearby tissues, which spread throughout the body.

Mentioned below are types of thyroid cancer:

• Follicular thyroid cancer
  This type of cancer originates from follicular cells present in the thyroid and usually affects people older than 50 years. Hurthle cell cancer is a type of follicular cancer which is rare and potentially aggressive and requires immediate treatment.
• Papillary thyroid cancer
  It makes 80% of total cases of thyroid cancer and also arises from follicular cells. Papillary thyroid cancer can occur at any age but mostly affects people between the age 30 and 50.
• Medullary thyroid cancer
  It begins in the C cells- A type of cells presents in the thyroid gland which produce the hormone calcitonin. Elevated levels of the hormone indicate that medullary cancer is at an early stage. Oncologists have recently found that although uncommon, certain genetic syndromes increase the risk of suffering from Medullary thyroid cancer.
• Thyroid lymphoma
  It is a rare form of thyroid cancer which begins in the immune system and grows aggressively. This form of cancer typically occurs in older adults.
• Anaplastic thyroid cancer
  Another rare form of cancer, anaplastic thyroid cancer is difficult to treat and usually occurs in the age of 60.

Risk factors
The factors that increase the chances of a person to getting a disease is called as risk factors. In the case of cancers, factors such as smoking and unhealthy eating can be changed but factors like family history and genetic syndromes cannot be changed. Following are some factors that can increase the risk of suffering from thyroid cancer

• Age and gender
  For unknown reasons, thyroid cancers occurs about thrice more often in women than in men. Recent surveys have concluded that it mostly affects women in their 40s and 50s. Men usually suffer from the same in their 60s and 70s.
• Hereditary conditions
  Two out of 10 medullary thyroid cancers are caused due to inheriting an abnormal gene. The cancer caused due to this abnormal gene is called as familial medullary thyroid carcinoma (FMTC). Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia type 2 (MEN 2) if present, causes mutations in the gene called RET, which increases the risk of suffering from thyroid cancer. Both these conditions are hereditary and can be passed from one generation to the other.
• Cowden disease
  People with this form of the syndrome have an increased risk of suffering from thyroid, breast, and uterus cancer. The thyroid cancer can be either of follicular or papillary type.