Survival for thyroid cancer
Survival depends on many factors. No one can tell you exactly how long you will live.
Below are general statistics based on large groups of people. Remember, they can’t tell you what will happen in your individual case.
Survival is generally very good for papillary and follicular thyroid cancers. Papillary thyroid cancer is the most common type of thyroid cancer.
About these statistics
The terms 1 year survival and 5 year survival don't mean that you will only live for 1 or 5 years.
The NHS, other health organisations, and researchers collect information. They watch what happens to people with cancer in the years after their diagnosis. 5 years is a common time point to measure survival. But some people live much longer than this.
5 year survival is the number of people who have not died from their cancer within 5 years after diagnosis.
Survival for all types and stages of thyroid cancer
There are no UK-wide statistics available for thyroid cancer survival by stage. Survival statistics are available for all stages of thyroid cancer in England. These statistics are for people diagnosed between 2016 and 2020. There are some differences between men and women:
1 year survival
- around 90 out of every 100 men (around 90%) survive thyroid cancer for at least 1 year after diagnosis
- almost 95 out of every 100 women (almost 95%) survive thyroid cancer for at least 1 year after diagnosis
5 year survival
- Around 85 out of every 100 men (around 85%) survive thyroid cancer for at least 5 years after diagnosis
- 90 out of every 100 women (90%) survive thyroid cancer for at least 5 years after diagnosis
10 year survival
- Around 85 out of every 100 people (around 85%) survive their cancer for 10 years or more after diagnosis
1 and 5 year survival statistics
Cancer survival in England, cancers diagnosed 2016 to 2020, followed up to 2021
NHS England
These figures are for people diagnosed in England between 2016 and 2020.
10 year survival statistics
Cancer survival by stage at diagnosis for England, 2019
Office for National Statistics
1, 5 and 10 year statistics are for net survival. Net survival estimates the number of people who survive their cancer rather than calculating the number of people diagnosed with cancer who are still alive. In other words, it is the survival of cancer patients after taking into account that some people would have died from other causes if they had not had cancer
Survival for different types of thyroid cancer
The survival statistics below are from a large European study. They are based on people treated in the UK and Ireland between 2000 and 2007. Treatments improve over time, so people treated now may have a better outlook.
With thyroid cancer, the most important factor that affects survival is the type and stage of thyroid cancer you have.
More than 85 out of every 100 men (more than 85%) survive their cancer for 5 years or more after they are diagnosed.
Almost 95 out of 100 women (almost 95%) survive their cancer for 5 years or more after they are diagnosed.
Around 85 out of every 100 men (around 85%) will survive their cancer for 5 years or more after they are diagnosed.
Almost 90 out of every 100 women (almost 90%) will survive their cancer for 5 years or more after they are diagnosed.
Almost 70 out of every 100 men (almost 70%) will survive their cancer for 5 years or more after they are diagnosed.
Around 75 out of every 100 women (around 75%) will survive their cancer for 5 years or more after they are diagnosed.
Around 5 out of every 100 men (around 5%) will survive their cancer for 5 years or more after they are diagnosed.
Around 5 out of every 100 women (around 5%) will survive their cancer for 5 years or more after diagnosis.
Survival of 86,690 patients with thyroid cancer: A population-based study in 29 European countries from EUROCARE-5
L Dal Maso and others
European Journal of Cancer (May 2017) Volume 77, pages 140 - 152
These statistics are for relative survival. Relative survival takes into account that some people will die of causes other than cancer. This gives a more accurate picture of cancer survival.
What affects survival?
Your outlook depends on the type and stage of your thyroid cancer when it’s diagnosed. Stage means how big it is and whether it has spread. The outcome is usually better when the cancer is at an early stage.
Your likely survival is also affected by your age. Survival is better in younger men and women.
If you have other medical conditions, this might influence the treatment you can have. It might also affect your likely survival.
