Chance of Healing
The chances of cure are highest in papillary and follicular thyroid cancer. In over 80% of all cases of papillary thyroid cancer, the tumor can be cured, which is measured by the 10-year survival rate. Therefore, this form of malignant thyroid disease has the best prognostic prospects.
The prognosis for follicular thyroid carcinoma is somewhat worse with a 60 to 70% chance of cure. A C-cell carcinoma or medullary thyroid cancer may depend on the genetic basis. There is a familial form in which the predisposition to develop a thyroid tumor is inherited.In the case of a familial predisposition, the chances of recovery are better in terms of 10-year survival rates (50 to 70%) than in the “wild form”, which develops without genetic cause.
If it can be established that the genetic make-up is to blame for the disease, counselling of the entire family should be sought in order to be able to initiate measures for early detection and to improve the prognosis of the disease in further cases in the family. The worst prognosis and thus the lowest chances of recovery are found in anaplastic thyroid carcinoma. Due to the de-differentiated cells, the tumor grows extremely fast and is difficult to attack by therapeutic measures.
Since this form of cancer is hardly curable, less than 10% survive the following 5 years, even if treatment is initiated. Due to the high aggressiveness of the tumor, 6 months after the diagnosis, half of all patients have already died of the disease.