My mother is 62 years old and was recently diagnosed with papillary thyroid cancer, stage 1B. Is this disease dangerous? (Thu Hien, Hanoi)
Reply:
Thyroid cancer is the abnormal growth of malignant cells of thyroid origin. Histologically, thyroid cancer is divided into differentiated carcinoma (follicular, papillary and oncocytic), medullary, undifferentiated thyroid cancer and other rare histopathological types. others such as thyroid lymphoma, thyroid sarcoma.
According to the Global Cancer Organization (Globocan) 2020, thyroid cancer is one of the 10 most common types of cancer in Vietnam, with about 5.470 new cases.
The disease has a good prognosis if diagnosed at an early stage and treated appropriately. Thyroid cancer that is not detected and treated promptly can easily develop, invade, metastasize, and threaten life.
There are many factors that affect prognosis including histopathology, stage of disease detection, age at diagnosis, patient's health status, selected treatment method, and ability to respond to therapy. Patient treatment...
Your mother has papillary thyroid carcinoma and has a positive prognosis for treatment and recovery. Papillary thyroid cancer is a common disease, accounting for more than 80% of cases.
Most patients with papillary thyroid cancer respond well to treatment, even in cases where the cancer cells have spread to lymph nodes. The survival rate after 5 years is more than 99%. Many studies show that the survival rate over 10 years, 15 years, even 20 years is up to 90% for this type of disease. In case of metastasis, survival and treatment rates are still very positive.
In cases of the same histopathological type such as follicular and medullary thyroid cancer, the prognosis for health recovery is still more than 90%.
Particularly in cases of poorly differentiated thyroid cancer, the prognosis for recovery is often low because the cancer cells grow rapidly.
The preferred treatment option for stage one thyroid cancer is surgical intervention. Doctors evaluate general health status, discuss anesthesia safety, and surgical methods used. Depending on the results after surgery, further assessments, additional treatments (such as radioactive iodine treatment...) and long-term follow-up plans, the doctor will provide further advice to the patient and family.
Detecting the disease at an early stage helps doctors have many treatment options to achieve optimal results and highest survival prognosis. You and your family need to encourage, care for and accompany your mother during the treatment process.
MSc. Dr. Luu Thao Ngoc
Department of Oncology, Tam Anh General Hospital, Hanoi
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