How fast does anaplastic thyroid cancer grow?

It depends on the type of thyroid cancer but the most common type, papillary thyroid cancer, usually grows and spreads slowly. There is another very rare type, anaplastic thyroid cancer that grows very fast and is usually lethal. read more

Like papillary cancer, anaplastic thyroid cancer may arise many years (more than 20) following radiation exposure. Cervical metastasis (the spread of the cancer to lymph nodes in the neck) are present in the vast majority (more than 90%) of cases at the time of diagnosis. read more

Medullary: This type accounts for 4 percent of thyroid cancers. It is more likely to develop if there is a family history (others in the family have it) of this type of cancer. Anaplastic: This type is rare (about 2 percent of thyroid cancers). Anaplastic cancer is a fast-growing cancer, spreading quickly into surrounding tissue. read more