Follicular thyroid cancers are rarely hereditary. In fact, I do not believe I have ever seen any follicular thyroid cancer patient with a history of a direct relative with a follicular thyroid cancer. So you should generally not be concerned about the risk to your children. If you have a concern, then please discuss this with your doctor.

Follicular Thyroid Cancer Known Associated Genetic Mutations

Follicular thyroid cancer genetic abnormalities are rapidly becoming well identified following the human genome project and the cancer genome project.

  • Follicular thyroid cancer and its variants more commonly reveal RAS mutations or PAX8/PPAR gamma rearrangements. But importantly, these mutations can be also found in benign follicular tumors as well.
  • Aggressive follicular thyroid cancer variants are potentially suggested by mutations of the p53 or PI3kinase genese. To date, identifying these mutations does not translate to targetable treatment approaches and should not direct therapy above what is seen under the microscope (pathology) and Xray findings.