Prognosis

Better differentiated tumours carry a better prognosis:

• papillary - 20 year survival is greater than 90% if the carcinoma is small and intrathyroidal. The prognosis is is slightly worse in the elderly where there is a greater tendency to more aggressive disease and lung metastasis in the form of lymphangitis carcinomatosa
• follicular - 20 year survival is 60-70%. Angioinvasion is associated with greater mortality
• medullary - 20 year survival is 70-80%. Less differentiated variants have a poorer survival
• anaplastic - 20 year survival is less than 5%. Most die within 1 year

Thyroid cancer generalised statistics (1):

• almost 9 in 10 (85%) people diagnosed with thyroid cancer in England survive their disease for ten years or more (2009-2013)
  
  
• around 9 in 10 (89%) people diagnosed with thyroid cancer in England survive their disease for five years or more (2009-2013)
  
  
• almost 95% (93%) of people diagnosed with thyroid cancer in England survive their disease for one year or more (2009-2013)
  
  
• thyroid cancer 10-year survival in England is higher in women than men (2009-2013)
  
  
• thyroid cancer survival in England is highest for adults diagnosed aged under 50 years old (2009-2013)
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• nearly all people in England diagnosed with thyroid cancer aged 15-49 survive their disease for five years or more, compared with almost half of people diagnosed aged 80-99 (2009-2013)
  
  
• thyroid cancer mortality is strongly related to age, with the highest mortality rates being in older people. In the UK in 2014-2016, on average each year almost 6 in 10 (55%) deaths were in people aged 75 and over
  • largely reflects higher incidence and lower survival for thyroid cancer in older people
  • age-specific mortality rates rise steadily from around age 40-44 and more steeply from around age 60-64
  • highest rates are in the 85 to 89 age group for males and the 90+ age group for females

Reference:

1. CRUK. Thyroid Cancer Statistics (Accessed 29/5/19)