Can Thyroid Cancer Be Found Early?

Many thyroid cancers can be found early. In fact, most thyroid cancers are now found much earlier than in the past and can be treated successfully.

How is thyroid cancer found?

Screening for thyroid cancer isn’t recommended for most people. Still, most thyroid cancers are found early, when people see their doctors because they notice a lump or swelling in their neck. If you have this, or other possible signs and symptoms of thyroid cancer, see your doctor right away.

Some thyroid cancers are found by health care professionals when a person has a routine health checkup.

Early thyroid cancers are also sometimes found during imaging tests (such as ultrasounds or CT scans) for other health problems.

Screening for thyroid cancer

Screening is the use of tests or exams to look for a disease, like cancer, in people who have no symptoms.

For people at average risk

At this time, no major professional organization recommends routine thyroid cancer screening for most people.

Certain tests, like physical exams or ultrasound of the thyroid, can sometimes find thyroid cancer early. But for people who aren’t at increased risk, the possible harms likely outweigh the possible benefits of using these as screening tests. One possible harm includes finding a cancer that would never have needed to be treated.

For people at increased risk

Doctors might recommend screening for some people who are at increased risk of thyroid cancer.

This includes people who:

• Were exposed to radiation to the head and neck area as a child (or to radioactive fallout)
• Have a close relative with thyroid cancer (parent, sibling, or child)
• Have an inherited condition that raises their risk of thyroid cancer

If any of these apply to you, talk to your health care team about whether you should be screened for thyroid cancer.

For people with a family history of MTC

People with a family history of medullary thyroid cancer (MTC), with or without multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2 (MEN2), have a very high risk for developing MTC.

If a person has a family history of MTC, most doctors recommend genetic testing at a very young age. This testing can show if that person carries the gene changes linked to MTC. If so, removing the thyroid gland can prevent many of these cancers.

For people who may be at risk but have not had genetic testing, regular blood tests and thyroid ultrasounds might help find MTC at an early stage, when it may still be curable.