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Cancer Risk and Survival Rates Calculators
by Dr. Christopher Chang, last modified on
11/27/22.
Cancer Risk Calculator
One of the most common concerns of a patient is whether they may or may not have throat or oral cancer. For any number of symptoms, there is a specific cancer risk associated with each individual symptom or physical attribute (more info). When more then one symptom and physical attributes are included, a calculator is then required to estimate overall cancer risk.
Perhaps one of the best head and neck cancer risk calculator is the:
Keep in mind that in order for the calculator to provide accurate cancer risk estimates, most of the symptoms must be present for at least 3 weeks.
Cancer Survival Calculators
Of course, once cancer has been definitively diagnosed, the next important question patients have is their chances of survival with treatment. For that, the typical measures reported are risk of cancer recurrence after a certain number of years or how many patients are still alive after a certain number of years.
The best calculator I have come across is one out of University of Michigan which takes into consideration p16 status which oddly most published cancer calculators ignore even though p16 status has a significant effect on how well cancer treatment works.
University of Michigan Oropharyngeal Cancer
Survival Calculator
Keep in mind that this calculator is specific for cancers of the oropharynx and not other locations of the head and neck. The oropharynx includes soft palate, side & back walls of the throat, tonsil, and back 1/3 of the tongue.
For other locations, the cancer survival rates calculator can be found as follows:
• Larynx Cancer (Note: SCC p16 status not taken into consideration)
• Nasopharynx Cancer (Note: SCC p16 status not taken into consideration)
• Oral Cavity Cancer (Note: SCC p16 status not taken into consideration)
* p16 status is a biomarker that indicates the cancer was triggered by HPV. This status is important because if the cancer is p16 positive, the survival rates are MUCH better than if p16 negative. The p16 status applies to the cancer type known as squamous cell carcinoma (SCC).
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