AML Prognosis

A prognosis is a medical opinion as to the likely course and outcome of a disease. In other words, a prognosis is the chance that a patient will recover or have a recurrence (return of the cancer). Many factors can affect a person's AML prognosis, such as:

 

• The type and location of the cancer
• The stage of the disease (the extent to which the cancer has metastasized, or spread)
• The person's age, general health, and response to treatment
• The grade of the cancer (how abnormal the cancer cells look and how quickly the cancer is likely to grow and spread).

 

When doctors discuss a person's prognosis, they carefully consider all of the factors that could affect that person's disease and treatment, and then try to predict what might happen. The doctor will base the prognosis on information researchers have collected over many years about hundreds, or even thousands, of people with cancer. When possible, the doctor will use statistics based on groups of people whose situations are most similar to that of an individual patient.

 

The doctor may speak of a favorable prognosis if the cancer is likely to respond well to treatment. The prognosis may be unfavorable if the cancer is likely to be difficult to control. However, it is important to keep in mind that a prognosis is only a prediction and that the doctor cannot be absolutely certain about the outcome for a particular patient.