Prognosis

A prognosis is a prediction of the outcome of one’s disease. How likely is survival? Will the cancer come back? These are the big questions on most people’s minds after receiving a diagnosis of primary neck cancer. In general, there are several characteristics of the tumor that can inform a patient about their chances of being cured.

Factors That Affect Prognosis

Stage

This is the most important factor that affects a patient’s chance of being cured.

Site

The location and extent of the tumor related to surrounding structures in the neck will affect a patient’s prognosis. 

Type and Grade

Both the type and grade of the tumor determine the amount of treatment necessary and the ultimate prognosis. 

Tumor Margins

The ability to completely remove the tumor with a margin of healthy tissue around it is a very important factor in a patient’s prognosis.  

While each of these factors contributes to one’s outcome, patients should have a discussion with their doctor to determine their overall prognosis. Giving an exact percentage of survival probability is challenging because cancer research often looks at multiple types of cancer and may include a large range of patients who underwent a variety of treatments.

Moreover, primary neck cancers represent such a diverse group that it is not possible to provide valuable prognostic estimates for this group of patients as a whole.

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