Medullary Thyroid Carcinoma

Medullary Thyroid Carcinoma is a rare thyroid tumor
originating from neural crest cells, the C-cell that implies
several special features, secretion of different
neuroendocrine markers, association with other endocrine
tumors and familial appearance. The familial variant of
medullary thyroid carcinoma allows an early detection by
biochemical and genetic testing. At that stage acceptable
surgical treatment will cure the patient. The sporadic form
of medullary thyroid carcinoma will be diagnosed in a
progressive stage, but adequate surgical procedure can cure
these patients too. Long term survival depends on stage,
age, sex, and variant of the disease and seems to be as good
as in other differentiated thyroid cancers.