What Are the Causes of Thyroid Lymphoma?

The thyroid is a gland that controls the development of a growing human body, and it is also responsible for the ongoing maintenance of that body. When the thyroid is attacked by a lymph node growth, then it is important to get the condition treated as soon as possible before a thyroid imbalance leads to a series of critical conditions.

Identification

The thyroid is a gland found at the base of your neck that is responsible for the hormones that regulate body temperature, body weight, blood pressure and the rate at which your heart beats.

Thyroid lymphoma is a swelling of the thyroid due to an increase in the white blood cells that are carried by the lymph. It can be seen as a general swelling of the thyroid known as a goiter, or it can be seen as several small bumps on the thyroid known as thyroid nodules. A small portion of thyroid lymphomas are cancerous.

Genetic Causes

One of the causes of thyroid lymphoma is a genetic defect that creates an excess amount of lymph and white blood cells in the thyroid. Under normal circumstances cells are supposed to die and get absorbed by enzymes to make way for new cells, but in the case of lymphoma the cells have lost the ability to make way for new cells and they continue to gather until they form a cancerous tumor. The excess cell material will then start to spread to other parts of the body.

Diseases

The autoimmune disease Hashimoto thyroiditis is also thought to be a cause of thyroid lymphoma. Hashimoto thyroiditis is a condition that attacks the immune system through the abnormal creation of non-Hodgkins lymphomas. One of the genetic side-effects to the condition is an acceleration of the creation of lymphoma cells in the thyroid that can lead to the cancerous cells that cause thyroid lymphoma.

Non-Cancerous Lymphoma

Not all instances of thyroid lymphoma are cancerous. The condition known as colloid is the collection of lymph fluid in sacs known as colloid nodules. This will produce the effects of thyroid lymphoma, but they are often not cancerous.

Other forms of lymph nodes known as hyperplastic nodules develop and tend to produce too much of the thyroid hormone. This imbalance can result in the condition known as hyperthyroidism.

When thyroid lymphoma is not cancerous it is not always necessary to remove the nodules that develop.

Outlook

While cancerous thyroid lymphoma is dangerous and potentially lethal, if it is caught in the early stages it is not difficult for the doctor to eliminate the condition and stop the spread of the cancerous cells.

According to the Mayo Clinic only 37,000 Americans a year are diagnosed with thyroid lymphoma, which is considered to be a relatively small number. That number is slowly growing however, and that is more than likely because the technology used to detect thyroid cancer has advanced to the point where much smaller nodules are being found than could be found in the past.