Survival

Data Up to Date as of:

August 2023

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For patients diagnosed with cancer in 2014, 70.1% survived the cancer for at least five years.

Summary graph for Survival, Click to see detailed view of graph

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Summary graph for Survival, Click to see detailed view of graph

Background

Advances in the ways that cancer is diagnosed and treated have increased the number of people who live for long periods of time after a cancer diagnosis. This report looks at trends in 5-year survival rates for cancer, a common timeframe used by statisticians to measure survival rates. It is important to note that while many people may live without evidence of cancer during and beyond this period, some people may live long-term with their cancer, or experience a recurrence or progression of their cancer.

Measure

Five-year relative cancer survival: The proportion of patients surviving cancer 5 years after diagnosis calculated in the absence of other causes of death. The relative survival ratio is defined as the observed survival in the patient group divided by the expected survival of a comparable group from the general population. This ratio represents survivors that are expected if cancer were the only cause of death in the cohort.

Healthy People 2030 Target

  • The Healthy People 2030 Target for survival is pending revisions. This measure will be updated once the Healthy People 2030 target is finalized.

Healthy People 2030 is a set of goals set forth by the Department of Health and Human Services.

Data Source

SEER Program, National Cancer Institute, 1975–2014 with follow-up through 2019.

Trends and Most Recent EstimatesHelp with navigating the graphs and data tables

All Cancer Sites Combined

By Sex
5-year relative survival for all cancer sites combined by sex, 1975-2014
Overview Graph Detailed Trend Graphs Most Recent Estimates (2014)
Percent surviving 95% Confidence Interval
Thumbnail of graph for 5-year relative survival for all cancer sites combined by sex, 1975-2014 Both SexesClick to see the detailed trend graph for Both Sexes 70.1 69.8 - 70.4
MaleClick to see the detailed trend graph for Male 68.3 67.8 - 68.7
FemaleClick to see the detailed trend graph for Female 71.9 71.5 - 72.4
By Race/Ethnicity
5-year relative survival for all cancer sites combined by race/ethnicity, 2000-2014
Overview Graph Detailed Trend Graphs Most Recent Estimates (2014)
Percent surviving 95% Confidence Interval
Thumbnail of graph for 5-year relative survival for all cancer sites combined by race/ethnicity, 2000-2014 All Races/EthnicitiesClick to see the detailed trend graph for All Races 67.5 67.3 - 67.6
Non-Hispanic WhiteClick to see the detailed trend graph for Non-Hispanic White 68.1 67.8 - 68.3
Non-Hispanic BlackClick to see the detailed trend graph for Non-Hispanic Black 62.8 62.2 - 63.4
HispanicClick to see the detailed trend graph for Hispanic 66.6 66.1 - 67.1
Non-Hispanic Asian/Pacific IslanderClick to see the detailed trend graph for Non-Hispanic Asian/Pacific Islander 65.0 64.3 - 65.7
Non-Hispanic American Indian/Alaska NativeClick to see the detailed trend graph for Non-Hispanic American Indian/Alaska Native 60.1 57.3 - 62.8

Top 4 Cancer Sites

Comparison of Top Cancer Sites
5-year relative survival for the most common cancers, 1975-2014
Overview Graph Detailed Trend Graphs Most Recent Estimates (2014)
Percent surviving 95% Confidence Interval
Thumbnail of graph for 5-year relative survival for the most common cancers, 1975-2014 Colon and RectumClick to see the detailed trend graph for Colon and Rectum 67.6 66.4 - 68.8
Lung and BronchusClick to see the detailed trend graph for Lung and Bronchus 23.2 22.3 - 24.2
Female BreastClick to see the detailed trend graph for Female Breast 92.1 91.4 - 92.6
ProstateClick to see the detailed trend graph for Prostate 97.1 96.3 - 97.7
Colon and Rectum Cancer by Sex
5-year relative survival for colon and rectum cancer by sex, 1975-2014
Overview Graph Detailed Trend Graphs Most Recent Estimates (2014)
Percent surviving 95% Confidence Interval
Thumbnail of graph for 5-year relative survival for colon and rectum cancer by sex, 1975-2014 Both SexesClick to see the detailed trend graph for Both Sexes 67.6 66.4 - 68.8
MaleClick to see the detailed trend graph for Male 67.5 65.8 - 69.1
FemaleClick to see the detailed trend graph for Female 67.8 66.0 - 69.5
Colon and Rectum Cancer by Race/Ethnicity
5-year relative survival for colon and rectum cancer by race/ethnicity, 2000-2014
Overview Graph Detailed Trend Graphs Most Recent Estimates (2014)
Percent surviving 95% Confidence Interval
Thumbnail of graph for 5-year relative survival for colon and rectum cancer by race/ethnicity, 2000-2014 All Races/EthnicitiesClick to see the detailed trend graph for All Races 65.1 64.5 - 65.8
Non-Hispanic WhiteClick to see the detailed trend graph for Non-Hispanic White 65.2 64.3 - 66.0
Non-Hispanic BlackClick to see the detailed trend graph for Non-Hispanic Black 61.3 59.4 - 63.2
HispanicClick to see the detailed trend graph for Hispanic 65.5 63.7 - 67.2
Non-Hispanic Asian/Pacific IslanderClick to see the detailed trend graph for Non-Hispanic Asian/Pacific Islander 66.8 64.8 - 68.8
Non-Hispanic American Indian/Alaska NativeClick to see the detailed trend graph for Non-Hispanic American Indian/Alaska Native 61.3 53.2 - 68.4
Lung and Bronchus Cancer by Sex
5-year relative survival for lung and bronchus cancer by sex, 1975-2014
Overview Graph Detailed Trend Graphs Most Recent Estimates (2014)
Percent surviving 95% Confidence Interval
Thumbnail of graph for 5-year relative survival for lung and bronchus cancer by sex, 1975-2014 Both SexesClick to see the detailed trend graph for Both Sexes 23.2 22.3 - 24.2
MaleClick to see the detailed trend graph for Male 20.6 19.3 - 21.8
FemaleClick to see the detailed trend graph for Female 26.0 24.7 - 27.4
Lung and Bronchus Cancer by Race/Ethnicity
5-year relative survival for lung and bronchus cancer by race/ethnicity, 2000-2014
Overview Graph Detailed Trend Graphs Most Recent Estimates (2014)
Percent surviving 95% Confidence Interval
Thumbnail of graph for 5-year relative survival for lung and bronchus cancer by race/ethnicity, 2000-2014 All Races/EthnicitiesClick to see the detailed trend graph for All Races 21.6 21.2 - 22.1
Non-Hispanic WhiteClick to see the detailed trend graph for Non-Hispanic White 21.7 21.1 - 22.2
Non-Hispanic BlackClick to see the detailed trend graph for Non-Hispanic Black 18.8 17.5 - 20.2
HispanicClick to see the detailed trend graph for Hispanic 22.2 20.4 - 24.1
Non-Hispanic Asian/Pacific IslanderClick to see the detailed trend graph for Non-Hispanic Asian/Pacific Islander 24.8 23.0 - 26.6
Non-Hispanic American Indian/Alaska NativeClick to see the detailed trend graph for Non-Hispanic American Indian/Alaska Native 15.8 10.0 - 22.8
Female Breast Cancer by Race/Ethnicity
5-year relative survival for female breast cancer by race/ethnicity, 2000-2014
Overview Graph Detailed Trend Graphs Most Recent Estimates (2014)
Percent surviving 95% Confidence Interval
Thumbnail of graph for 5-year relative survival for female breast cancer by race/ethnicity, 2000-2014 All Races/EthnicitiesClick to see the detailed trend graph for All Races 90.4 90.0 - 90.8
Non-Hispanic WhiteClick to see the detailed trend graph for Non-Hispanic White 91.9 91.4 - 92.3
Non-Hispanic BlackClick to see the detailed trend graph for Non-Hispanic Black 82.9 81.6 - 84.1
HispanicClick to see the detailed trend graph for Hispanic 87.8 86.8 - 88.8
Non-Hispanic Asian/Pacific IslanderClick to see the detailed trend graph for Non-Hispanic Asian/Pacific Islander 90.9 89.8 - 91.8
Non-Hispanic American Indian/Alaska NativeClick to see the detailed trend graph for Non-Hispanic American Indian/Alaska Native 93.2 87.0 - 96.6
Prostate Cancer by Race/Ethnicity
5-year relative survival for prostate cancer by race/ethnicity, 2000-2014
Overview Graph Detailed Trend Graphs Most Recent Estimates (2014)
Percent surviving 95% Confidence Interval
Thumbnail of graph for 5-year relative survival for prostate cancer by race/ethnicity, 2000-2014 All Races/EthnicitiesClick to see the detailed trend graph for All Races 96.4 96.0 - 96.8
Non-Hispanic WhiteClick to see the detailed trend graph for Non-Hispanic White 96.8 96.2 - 97.2
Non-Hispanic BlackClick to see the detailed trend graph for Non-Hispanic Black 95.9 94.7 - 96.9
HispanicClick to see the detailed trend graph for Hispanic 92.9 91.6 - 94.0
Non-Hispanic Asian/Pacific IslanderClick to see the detailed trend graph for Non-Hispanic Asian/Pacific Islander 93.9 92.0 - 95.4
Non-Hispanic American Indian/Alaska NativeClick to see the detailed trend graph for Non-Hispanic American Indian/Alaska Native 91.8 76.7 - 97.3

Additional Information on Survival

Year Range

1975-2014

Recent Summary Trend Year Range

2010-2014

Summary Tables

Survival, Smoking, Obesity, Physical Activity

Recent Summary Trend

Stable

Desired Direction

Rising