Before we get acquainted with the possible prognosis for patients with thyroid cancer, it is important to understand exactly how they are made. One of the most important concepts that are often mentioned in the forecast - a five-year and ten-year survival rate.
The five-year survival rate means that a certain percentage of patients live at least five years after they have been diagnosed with thyroid cancer. This does not mean that they died exactly five years. Some of them never received treatment, some - completely cured, someone was detected recurrent cancer, and they still lived at least five years. That is, the five-year survival rate only indicates that a specified percentage of people usually living with a diagnosis of "thyroid cancer" at least five years. The same is true for the concept of "the ten-year survival rate."
These time periods are used because various studies for cancer patients, was observed, usually within five to ten years.
For some cancers the probability of recurrence of cancer five years later, is so small that the "five-year survival" is often used as a synonym for full recovery, although it is not quite true. Practically all types of thyroid cancer, the probability of relapse after five years is significantly less than two years later.
The death rate indicates how many people died from cancer in one year. By themselves, the figures may be intimidating, but they do not indicate any terminal cancer patients was the treatments they have passed, and so on. If you read that in 2011, in a certain region of thyroid cancer was diagnosed in 50,000 people, and died of thyroid cancer 12000, remember that not all of these twelve thousand cancer diagnosed in the same year. As a rule, most of the deceased was ill for a long time, and they were not the early stages of cancer.
What affects the prognosis of thyroid cancer
Forecast - is the expected outcome of the disease. The prognosis, doctors take into account a variety of information, which is called prognostic factors.
When thyroid cancer is the most important prognostic factor - a type of cancer that was diagnosed in the patient. The most favorable prognosis of papillary thyroid cancer. Ten-year survival with this diagnosis is about 90%, or an average of more than 9 out of 10 patients live at least ten years after they are diagnosed with papillary thyroid cancer.
For medullary thyroid cancer prognosis is usually also quite favorable: the survival rate is only slightly lower than in follicular and papillary carcinoma. In anaplastic thyroid cancer prognosis is usually unfavorable.
The patient's age and stage of cancer are also important predictors. For patients under the age of forty years, projections are generally more favorable than for older patients.
At certain stages of thyroid cancer
Stages and prognosis of thyroid cancer
taken into account:
- The size of the tumor;
- Germination extrathyroidal tumor tissue;
- Cancer spread to other parts of the body.
Papillary thyroid cancer
Papillary thyroid cancer
Thyroid cancer: it is curable
very well treated and cured in most people.
Almost always be cured. For each patient, whose papillary thyroid cancer
Papillary thyroid cancer - the most common type
found on the first or second stage, there is a good chance to live at least five years after diagnosis.
At this stage, the survival rate is somewhat reduced: it is 95%, that is, on average, 95 out of 100 people from the third stage of this type of cancer have a higher chance to live at least five years.
Five-year survival rates in the last stage of papillary thyroid cancer is 45%.
Follicular thyroid cancer
The five-year survival rate for this type of cancer is almost as high as for papillary thyroid cancer. Most patients are completely cured.
Five-year survival is about 99%.
8 of 10 (80%) reside at least five years after they have detected the third stage of follicular thyroid cancer.
For the fourth stage of follicular thyroid cancer
Follicular thyroid cancer: no one is safe
the survival rate is 48%.
Medullary thyroid cancer
Prediction for medullary thyroid cancer also quite favorable, although survival and slightly lower than the two previous types of cancer.
The five-year survival rate for the first two stages of medullary thyroid cancer is on average 97%.
The five-year survival rate - 75%.
In the last stage of medullary thyroid cancer survival rate is significantly reduced. On average, 24 people out of 100, or 24%, live at least five years after they have been diagnosed with cancer of the fourth stage of this type.
Anaplastic thyroid cancer
Unfortunately, this type of cancer prognosis is unfavorable. Most patients live two to six months after they are diagnosed "anaplastic thyroid cancer." In each case, the prognosis depends on the size of the tumor and whether any part of it may be surgically removed. The most favorable prognosis when the tumor diameter is less than 5 cm, and it can be removed completely. However, even in this case, the survival rate is less than 20%.
The degree of differentiation
Another factor that must be considered when forecasting 0 is the degree of differentiation of cancer. Cancer cells are classified on the basis of how they differ from normal cells when they are viewed through a microscope. When follicular and papillary thyroid carcinoma tumors are classified as:
- High-grade - the tumor cells are very similar to the healthy cells of the thyroid gland;
- Srednedifferentsirovannye - tumors whose cells differ from normal cells of the thyroid gland;
- Undifferentiated - the tumor cells are very different from normal cells of the thyroid gland.
Low-grade tumors grow slowly, and the likelihood that they will metastases low. Undifferentiated grow much faster and are more likely to spread to other parts of the body.
How reliable is the forecast?
No statistics do not tell individual patient what will happen with it. Each patient and each cancer unique. The outcome will depend on many factors, some of which can not be taken into account in the statistics. Therefore, the forecast, of course, need to take note of, but in any case not be considered as a sentence.
