The vast majority of patients presenting ot the doctor with early, differentiated thyroid cancer will be cured. For example, the young woman with early papillary cancer has a greater than 90% chance of cure, but it is important that the algorithm of care outlined above is followed.
Similarly the chance of cure is good with modern therapy for thyroid lymphoma.
Unfortunately, the chance of surviving undifferentiated thyroid cancer is very much smaller and, despite the therapies outlined above, the majority of these patients die of their disease within one year.
Patients with medullary thyroid cancer have an overall 50% survival to 10 years and those with early stage disease and who have curative surgery, with the disappearance of rasied serum calcitonin, are those who are likely to be in the cured cohort.
