
Follicular thyroid carcinoma (FTC) is the second most common cancer of the thyroid, after papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC).
- Follicular and papillary thyroid cancers are considered to be differentiated thyroid cancers:
- Together they make up 95% of thyroid cancer cases.

FTC and other thyroid neoplasms arising from follicular cells (adenomas, papillary/follicular carcinoma, and noninvasive follicular thyroid neoplasm with papillary-like nuclear features [NIFTP]) show a broad range of overlapping clinical and cytologic features.
- FTC resembles the normal microscopic pattern of the thyroid:
- A clear distinction between benign and malignant disease based solely on cytological examination of a needle biopsy specimen may be difficult:
- For this reason, a surgical procedure to remove all or a large portion of the thyroid gland may be necessary to obtain sufficient tissue for a definitive diagnosis of FT:
- Pathological examination showing capsular or vascular invasion may be required for this determination.
Hurthle cell carcinoma should be considered a variant of FTC.
Pathophysiology
- Activating point mutations in the ras oncogene are well known in patients with follicular adenoma and carcinoma, especially in poorly differentiated (55%) and anaplastic carcinoma (52%):
- As a result of such mutations, p21-RAS becomes locked in its active conformation, leading to the constitutive activation of the protein and tumor development.
- The biochemical pathways that this process follows may be therapeutic targets for FTC.
- Accidental (not diagnostic) x-ray exposure may influence both occurrence and pattern of ras mutation.
- A study of differential gene expression profiling of aggressive and nonaggressive follicular carcinomas identified 94 genes that distinguish follicular carcinomas from follicular adenomas (including PBP and CKS2) and 4 genes that distinguish aggressive follicular carcinomas from nonaggressive follicular carcinomas (NID2, TM7SF2, TRIM2, and GLTSCR2).
Epidemiology
- The American Cancer Society (ACS) estimates that 53,990 new thyroid cancers will occur in 2018 (13,090 in men and 40,900 in women)
- The ACS estimates 2060 deaths from thyroid cancer in 2018, (960 in men and 1100 in women).
- In women, thyroid cancer is the fifth most common cancer:
- Accounting for approximately 5% of all new cases.
- In the United States, about 10% to 15% of all thyroid cancers are follicular.
- Thyroid cancers are quite rare, accounting for only 1.5% of all cancers in adults and 3% in children.
- The highest incidence of thyroid carcinomas in the world is among female Chinese residents of Hawaii:
- In Hawaii, the incidence of FTC ranges from 10 to 30 new cases a year per million inhabitants.
- In recent years, the frequency of FTC has appeared to increase; however, this increase is related to improvement in diagnostic techniques and a successful campaign of information about this carcinoma.