SCTC exhibits a highly aggressive phenotype, thus prognosis of that malignancy is extremely poor. The overall survival is less than 1 year in most of cases.

Although estimates vary, the annual incidence of clinically significant neuroendocrine tumors is approximately 2.5–5 per 100,000; two thirds are carcinoid tumors and one third are other NETs.

The prevalence has been estimated as 35 per 100,000, and may be considerably higher if clinically silent tumors are included. An autopsy study of the pancreas in people who died from unrelated causes discovered a remarkably high incidence of tiny asymptomatic NETs. Routine microscopic study of three random sections of the pancreas found NETs in 1.6%, and multiple sections identified NETs in 10%. As diagnostic imaging increases in sensitivity, such as endoscopic ultrasonography, very small, clinically insignificant NETs may be coincidentally discovered; being unrelated to symptoms, such neoplasms may not require surgical excision.

The greatest risk factors for RCC are lifestyle-related; smoking, obesity and hypertension (high blood pressure) have been estimated to account for up to 50% of cases.

Occupational exposure to some chemicals such as asbestos, cadmium, lead, chlorinated solvents, petrochemicals and PAH (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon) has been examined by multiple studies with inconclusive results.

Another suspected risk factor is the long term use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS).

Finally, studies have found that women who have had a hysterectomy are at more than double the risk of developing RCC than those who have not. Moderate alcohol consumption, on the other hand, has been shown to have a protective effect. The reason for this remains unclear.

Parathyroid cancer occurs in midlife at the same rate in men and women.

Conditions that appear to result in an increased risk of parathyroid cancer include multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1, autosomal dominant familial isolated hyperparathyroidism and hyperparathyroidism-jaw tumor syndrome (which also is hereditary). Parathyroid cancer has also been associated with external radiation exposure, but, most reports describe an association between radiation and the more common parathyroid adenoma.

Generally, there is a good prognosis for low-grade tumors, and a poor prognosis for high-grade tumors.

The Hürthle cell is named after German histologist Karl Hürthle, who investigated thyroid secretory function, particularly in dogs. However, this is a misnomer since Hürthle actually described parafollicular C cells. The cell known as the Hürthle cell was first described in 1898 by Max Askanazy, who noted it in patients with Graves' disease.

A Hürthle cell () or Askanazy cell () is a cell in the thyroid that is often associated with Hashimoto's thyroiditis as well as benign and malignant tumors (Hürthle cell adenoma and Hürthle cell carcinoma, a subtype of follicular thyroid cancer). This version is a relatively rare form of differentiated thyroid cancer, accounting for only 3-10% of all differentiated thyroid cancers. Oncocytes in the thyroid are often called Hürthle cells. Although the terms oncocyte, oxyphilic cell, and Hürthle cell are used interchangeably, Hürthle cell is used only to indicate cells of thyroid follicular origin.

In most series, LCLC's comprise between 5% and 10% of all lung cancers.

According to the Nurses' Health Study, the risk of large cell lung carcinoma increases with a previous history of tobacco smoking, with a previous smoking duration of 30 to 40 years giving a relative risk of approximately 2.3 compared to never-smokers, and a duration of more than 40 years giving a relative risk of approximately 3.6.

Another study concluded that cigarette smoking is the predominant cause of large cell lung cancer. It estimated that the odds ratio associated with smoking two or more packs/day for current smokers is 37.0 in men and 72.9 in women.

Hereditary factors have a minor impact on individual susceptibility with immediate relatives of people with RCC having a two to fourfold increased risk of developing the condition. Other genetically linked conditions also increase the risk of RCC, including hereditary papillary renal carcinoma, hereditary leiomyomatosis, Birt–Hogg–Dube syndrome, hyperparathyroidism-jaw tumor syndrome, familial papillary thyroid carcinoma, von Hippel–Lindau disease and sickle cell disease.

The most significant disease affecting risk however is not genetically linked – patients with acquired cystic disease of the kidney requiring dialysis are 30 times more likely than the general population to develop RCC.

Giant-cell lung cancers have long been considered to be exceptionally aggressive malignancies that grow very rapidly and have a very poor prognosis.

Many small series have suggested that the prognosis of lung tumors with giant cells is worse than that of most other forms of non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), including squamous cell carcinoma, and spindle cell carcinoma.

The overall five-year survival rate in GCCL varies between studies but is generally considered to be very low. The (US) Armed Forces Institute of Pathology has reported a figure of 10%, and in a study examining over 150,000 lung cancer cases, a figure of 11.8% was given. However, in the latter report the 11.8% figure was based on data that included spindle cell carcinoma, a variant which is generally considered to have a less dismal prognosis than GCCL. Therefore, the likely survival of "pure" GCCL is probably lower than the stated figure.

In the large 1995 database review by Travis and colleagues, giant-cell carcinoma has the third-worst prognosis among 18 histological forms of lung cancer. (Only small-cell carcinoma and large-cell carcinoma had shorter average survival.)

Most GCCL have already grown and invaded locally and/or regionally, and/or have already metastasized distantly, and are inoperable, at the time of diagnosis.

Depending on source, the overall 5-year survival rate for medullary thyroid cancer is 80%, 83% or 86%, and the 10-year survival rate is 75%.

By overall cancer staging into stages I to IV, the 5-year survival rate is 100% at stage I, 98% at stage II, 81% at stage III and 28% at stage IV. The prognosis of MTC is poorer than that of follicular and papillary thyroid cancer when it has metastasized (spread) beyond the thyroid gland.

The prognostic value of measuring calcitonin and carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) concentrations in the blood was studied in 65 MTC patients who had abnormal calcitonin levels after surgery (total thyroidectomy and lymph node dissection). The prognosis correlated with the rate at which the postoperative calcitonin concentration doubles, termed the calcitonin doubling time (CDT), rather than the pre- or postoperative absolute calcitonin level:

- CDT less than 6 months: 3 patients out of 12 (25%) survived 5 years. 1 patient out of 12 (8%) survived 10 years. All died within 6 months to 13.3 years.

- CDT between 6 months and 2 years: 11 patients out of 12 (92%) survived 5 years. 3 patients out of 8 (37%) survived 10 years. 4 patients out of 12 (25%) survived to the end of the study.

- CDT more than 2 years: 41 patients out of 41 (100%) were alive at the end of the study. These included 1 patient whose calcitonin was stable, and 11 patients who had decreasing calcitonin levels.

The calcitonin doubling time was a better predictor of MTC survival than CEA but following both tests is recommended.

Medullary thyroid cancer (MTC) is a form of thyroid carcinoma which originates from the parafollicular cells (C cells), which produce the hormone calcitonin.

Medullary tumors are the third most common of all thyroid cancers. They make up about 3% of all thyroid cancer cases.

Approximately 25% of medullary thyroid cancer is genetic in nature, caused by a mutation in the RET proto-oncogene. This form is classified as familial MTC. When MTC occurs by itself it is termed sporadic MTC. When it coexists with tumors of the parathyroid gland and medullary component of the adrenal glands (pheochromocytoma) it is called multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2 (MEN2).It was first characterized in 1959.

The true incidence, prevalence, and mortality of GCCL is generally unknown due to a lack of accurate cancer data on a national level. It is known to be a very rare tumor variant in all populations examined, however. In an American study of a database of over 60,000 lung cancers, GCCL comprised between 0.3% and 0.4% of primary pulmonary malignancies, with an age-adjusted incidence rate of about 3 new cases per million persons per year. With approximately 220,000 total lung cancers diagnosed in the US each year, the proportion suggests that approximately 660 and 880 new cases are diagnosed in Americans annually.

However, in a more recent series of 4,212 consecutive lung cancer cases, only one (0.024%) lesion was determined to be a "pure" giant-cell carcinoma after complete sectioning of all available tumor tissue. While some evidence suggests GCCL may have been considerably more common several decades ago, with one series identifying 3.4% of all lung carcinomas as giant-cell malignancies, it is possible that this number reflect

Most published case series and reports on giant cell-containing lung cancers show that they are diagnosed much more frequently in men than they are in women, with some studies showing extremely high male-to-female ratios (12:1 or more). In a study of over 150,000 lung cancer victims in the US, however, the gender ratio was just over 2:1, with women actually having a higher relative proportion of giant-cell cancers (0.4%) than men (0.3%).

Giant-cell carcinomas have been reported to be diagnosed in a significantly younger population than all non-small-cell carcinomas considered as a group. Like nearly all lung carcinomas, however, GCCs are exceedingly rare in very young people: in the US SEER program, only 2 cases were recorded to occur in persons younger than 30 years of age between 1983 and 1987. The average age at diagnosis of these tumors has been estimated at 60 years.

The vast majority of individuals with GCCL are heavy smokers.

Although the definitions of "central" and "peripheral" can vary between studies, GCCL are consistently diagnosed much more frequently in the lung periphery. In a review of literature compiled by Kallenburg and co-workers, less than 30% of GCCLs arose in the hilum or other parts of the "central" pulmonary tree.

A significant predilection for genesis of GCCL in the upper lobes of victims has also been postulated.

Squamous-cell thyroid carcinoma (SCTC) is rare malignant neoplasm of thyroid gland which shows tumor cells with distinct squamous differentiation. The incidence of SCTC is less than 1% out of thyroid malignancies.

Although reliable and comprehensive incidence statistics are nonexistent, LCLC-RP is a rare tumor, with only a few hundred cases described in the scientific literature to date. LCLC's made up about 10% of lung cancers in most historical series, equating to approximately 22,000 cases per year in the U.S. Of these LCLC cases, it is estimated that about 1% will eventually develop the rhabdoid phenotype during tumor evolution and progression. In one large series of 902 surgically resected lung cancers, only 3 cases (0.3%) were diagnosed as LCLC-RP. In another highly selected series of large-cell lung carcinoma cases, only 4 of 45 tumors (9%) were diagnosed as the rhabdoid phenotype using the 10% criterion, but another 10 (22%) had at least some rhabdoid cell formation. It appears likely, therefore, that LCLC-RP probably comprises between 0.1% and 1.0% of all lung malignancies.

Similar to nearly all variants of lung carcinoma, large cell lung carcinoma with rhabdoid phenotype appears to be highly related to tobacco smoking. It also appears to be significantly more common in males than in females.

While cancer is generally considered a disease of old age, children can also develop cancer. In contrast to adults, carcinomas are exceptionally rare in children..

The two biggest risk factors for ovarian carcinoma are age and family history.

The overall 5-year survival rate for follicular thyroid cancer is 91%, and the 10-year survival rate is 85%.

By overall cancer staging into stages I to IV, follicular thyroid cancer has a 5-year survival rate of 100% for stages I and II, 71% for stage III, and 50% for stage IV.

Occurs in adults, with peak incidence from 20–40 years of age. A causal link with cytomegalovirus (CMV) has been strongly implicated in a 2011 research.

Hurthle cell thyroid cancer is often considered a variant of follicular cell carcinoma. Hurthle cell forms are more likely than follicular carcinomas to be bilateral and multifocal and to metastasize to lymph nodes. Like follicular carcinoma, unilateral hemithyroidectomy is performed for non-invasive disease, and total thyroidectomy for invasive disease.

LCC is, in effect, a "diagnosis of exclusion", in that the tumor cells lack light microscopic characteristics that would classify the neoplasm as a small-cell carcinoma, squamous-cell carcinoma, adenocarcinoma, or other more specific histologic type of lung cancer.

LCC is differentiated from small-cell lung carcinoma (SCLC) primarily by the larger size of the anaplastic cells, a higher cytoplasmic-to-nuclear size ratio, and a lack of "salt-and-pepper" chromatin.

Acinic cell carcinoma appears in all age groups, but presents at a younger median age (approx. 52 years) than most other salivary gland cancers. Occurrences in children are quite common.

Reliable comprehensive incidence statistics for c-SCLC are unavailable. In the literature, the frequency with which the c-SCLC variant is diagnosed largely depends on the size of tumor samples, tending to be higher in series where large surgical resection specimens are examined, and lower when diagnoses are based on small cytology and/or biopsy samples. Tatematsu "et al." reported 15 cases of c-SCLC (12%) in their series of 122 consecutive SCLC patients, but only 20 resection specimens were examined. In contrast, Nicholson "et al." found 28 c-SCLC (28%) in a series of 100 consecutive resected SCLC cases. It appears likely, then, that the c-SCLC variant comprises 25% to 30% of all SCLC cases.

As the incidence of SCLC has declined somewhat in the U.S. in recent decades, it is likely that c-SCLC has also decreased in incidence. Nevertheless, small cell carcinomas (including the c-SCLC variant) still comprise 15–20% of all lung cancers, with c-SCLC probably accounting for 4–6%. With 220,000 cases of newly diagnosed lung cancer in the U.S. each year, it can be estimated that between 8,800 and 13,200 of these are c-SCLC.

In a study of 408 consecutive patients with SCLC, Quoix and colleagues found that presentation as a solitary pulmonary nodule (SPN) is particularly indicative of a c-SCLC — about 2/3 of their SPN's were pathologically confirmed to be c-SCLC's containing a large cell carcinoma component.

Parathyroid carcinoma is sometimes diagnosed during surgery for primary hyperparathyroidism. If the surgeon suspects carcinoma based on severity or invasion of surrounding tissues by a firm parathyroid tumor, aggressive excision is performed, including the thyroid and surrounding tissues as necessary.

Agents such as calcimimetics (for example, cinacalcet) are used to mimic calcium and are able to activate the parathyroid calcium-sensing receptor (making the parathyroid gland "think" we have more calcium than we actually do), therefore lowering the calcium level, in an attempt to decrease the hypercalcemia.

Hürthle cell adenoma is a rare benign tumor, typically seen in women between the ages of 70 and 80 years old. This adenoma is characterized by a mass of benign Hürthle cells (Askanazy cells). Typically such a mass is removed because it is not easy to predict whether it will transform into the malignant counterpart, a subtype of follicular thyroid cancer called a Hürthle cell carcinoma.

LCLC-RP are considered to be especially aggressive tumors with a dismal prognosis. Many published cases have shown short survival times after diagnosis. Some studies suggest that, as the proportion of rhabdoid cells in the tumor increases, the prognosis tends to worsen, although this is most pronounced when the proportion of rhabdoid cells exceeds 5%. With regard to "parent" neoplasms other than LCLC, adenocarcinomas with rhabdoid features have been reported to have worse prognoses than adenocarcinomas without rhabdoid features, although an "adenocarcinoma with rhabdoid phenotype" tumor variant has not been specifically recognized as a distinct entity under the WHO-2004 classification system.

Interestingly, there are case reports of rhabdoid carcinomas recurring after unusually long periods, which is unusual for a fast-growing, aggressive tumor type. One report described a very early stage patient whose tumor recurred 6 years after initial treatment. Although rapidly progressive, fulminant courses seem to be the rule in this entity, long-term survival has also been noted, even post-metastectomy in late stage, distant metastatic disease.