PAEA Surgery End Of Rotation (EOR) Practice Exam

Disable ads (and more) with a membership for a one time $2.99 payment

Prepare for the PAEA Surgery EOR Exam with comprehensive quizzes and questions. Challenge yourself with multiple-choice questions, insights, and detailed explanations. Get exam-ready with us!

Each practice test/flash card set has 50 randomly selected questions from a bank of over 500. You'll get a new set of questions each time!

Practice this question and more.


Which thyroid cancer has the worst prognosis among the mentioned types?

  1. Follicular

  2. Medullary

  3. Anaplastic

  4. Papillary

The correct answer is: Anaplastic

Anaplastic thyroid carcinoma is associated with the worst prognosis among the various types of thyroid cancers. This aggressive tumor is characterized by its rapid growth, invasive nature, and tendency to metastasize early. Patients diagnosed with anaplastic thyroid cancer often present with a large neck mass and may experience symptoms related to local invasion, such as difficulty breathing or swallowing. The biology of anaplastic thyroid cancer is distinct from more differentiated types, such as papillary or follicular thyroid carcinomas, which tend to grow slowly and have a better overall survival rate. Medullary thyroid carcinoma, while more aggressive than papillary or follicular types, does not typically reach the same levels of aggressiveness and poor outcomes seen in anaplastic cases. Thus, when considering the prognosis and behavior of these cancers, anaplastic thyroid carcinoma clearly stands out as the most concerning variant, emphasizing the need for prompt and aggressive treatment strategies.