Survival by cancer and stage
Five-year relative survival for 36 of 64 cancers in OnCo, from the US National Cancer Institute's SEER programme (2016-2022 diagnoses). Survival is shown overall and by stage at diagnosis where SEER publishes it. These are population averages for the United States, not predictions for any one person, and several cancers share one SEER site.
| Cancer | SEER site | 5-year relative survival | Localised | Regional | Distant | Period |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia | Acute lymphocytic leukaemia | 73.2% | no staging | no staging | no staging | 2016-2022 |
| Acute myeloid leukaemia | Acute myeloid leukaemia | 33.4% | no staging | no staging | no staging | 2016-2022 |
| Anal cancer (squamous cell carcinoma) | Anus, anal canal and anorectum | 70.9% | 85% | 70.1% | 36.5% | 2016-2022 |
| Biliary tract cancer (cholangiocarcinoma) SEER combines intrahepatic bile duct cancer with liver cancer; extrahepatic and gallbladder cancers are not included. | Liver and intrahepatic bile duct | 21.9% | 37.4% | 13.4% | 3.6% | 2016-2022 |
| Bladder & urothelial cancer Upper-tract urothelial cancers are not included in the bladder site. | Urinary bladder | 79.1% | 73% | 41.8% | 9.6% | 2016-2022 |
| Cervical cancer | Cervix uteri | 68.8% | 91.8% | 64% | 20.5% | 2016-2022 |
| Chronic lymphocytic leukaemia | Chronic lymphocytic leukaemia | 90.2% | no staging | no staging | no staging | 2016-2022 |
| Chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) | Chronic myeloid leukaemia | 71.1% | no staging | no staging | no staging | 2016-2022 |
| Colorectal cancer | Colon and rectum | 65.4% | 91.3% | 75.2% | 16.9% | 2016-2022 |
| Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma | Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma | 64.8% | n/a | n/a | n/a | 2016-2022 |
| Endometrial cancer | Uterus (corpus and uterus, NOS) | 80.9% | 94.9% | 70.1% | 19.9% | 2016-2022 |
| Ewing sarcoma SEER combines all bone and joint cancers. | Bone and joint | 68.7% | no staging | no staging | no staging | 2016-2022 |
| Follicular lymphoma | Follicular lymphoma | 88.9% | n/a | n/a | n/a | 2016-2022 |
| Gastric & gastro-oesophageal junction cancer Gastro-oesophageal junction tumours are split between the stomach and oesophagus sites in SEER. | Stomach | 39.8% | 78.1% | 39% | 8.1% | 2016-2022 |
| Gastrointestinal stromal tumour (GIST) GIST is not a SEER site; small-intestine cancer is the closest published table and is not a substitute. | Small intestine | 71.8% | 86.3% | 79.6% | 47.9% | 2016-2022 |
| Glioma & glioblastoma SEER combines all brain and nervous system tumours; glioblastoma survival is far below this average. | Brain and other nervous system | 32.9% | 35.3% | 20.1% | 28% | 2016-2022 |
| Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma Covers oral cavity and pharynx only; larynx is a separate SEER site. | Oral cavity and pharynx | 69.9% | 88.7% | 69.7% | 36% | 2016-2022 |
| Hepatocellular carcinoma SEER combines hepatocellular carcinoma with intrahepatic bile duct cancer. | Liver and intrahepatic bile duct | 21.9% | 37.4% | 13.4% | 3.6% | 2016-2022 |
| HER2-positive breast cancer SEER reports all female breast cancer together, not by subtype. | Breast (female) | 91.9% | 100% | 87.5% | 33.8% | 2016-2022 |
| Hodgkin lymphoma | Hodgkin lymphoma | 89.3% | n/a | n/a | n/a | 2016-2022 |
| HR-positive / HER2-negative breast cancer SEER reports all female breast cancer together, not by subtype; HR-positive disease has better survival than this average. | Breast (female) | 91.9% | 100% | 87.5% | 33.8% | 2016-2022 |
| Melanoma | Melanoma of the skin | 94.7% | 100% | 76% | 34% | 2016-2022 |
| Multiple myeloma | Myeloma | 63.7% | 82.1% | 80.7% | 63% | 2016-2022 |
| Non-small-cell lung cancer SEER reports all lung cancer together; non-small-cell disease has better survival than this average. | Lung and bronchus | 29.5% | 65.5% | 38.2% | 10.5% | 2016-2022 |
| Oesophageal cancer | Oesophagus | 22.2% | 48.6% | 29.1% | 5.3% | 2016-2022 |
| Osteosarcoma SEER combines all bone and joint cancers. | Bone and joint | 68.7% | no staging | no staging | no staging | 2016-2022 |
| Ovarian cancer | Ovary | 52% | 91.9% | 70.1% | 31.5% | 2016-2022 |
| Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma | Pancreas | 13.7% | 43.6% | 17% | 3.4% | 2016-2022 |
| Prostate cancer | Prostate | 98.2% | 100% | 100% | 40.1% | 2016-2022 |
| Renal cell carcinoma | Kidney and renal pelvis | 79.2% | 93.6% | 77.6% | 20.3% | 2016-2022 |
| Sarcomas (soft tissue, bone, GIST) Soft-tissue sarcomas only; bone sarcomas and GIST are reported separately. | Soft tissue including heart | 65.7% | 83.3% | 58.2% | 17% | 2016-2022 |
| Small-cell lung cancer SEER reports all lung cancer together; small-cell disease has worse survival than this average. | Lung and bronchus | 29.5% | 65.5% | 38.2% | 10.5% | 2016-2022 |
| Testicular germ cell tumours | Testis | 94.6% | no staging | no staging | no staging | 2016-2022 |
| Thyroid cancer | Thyroid | 98.3% | 99.9% | 98.1% | 48.3% | 2016-2022 |
| Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) SEER reports all female breast cancer together, not by subtype; triple-negative disease has worse survival than this average. | Breast (female) | 91.9% | 100% | 87.5% | 33.8% | 2016-2022 |
| Vulvar cancer | Vulva | 69.7% | 85.5% | 51.4% | 20.8% | 2016-2022 |
Read these numbers carefully
- US population statistics. Relative survival compares people with the cancer to the general population of the same age, sex and race; it is not a prediction for an individual. Stage groups are SEER summary stages (localised, regional, distant), not TNM stages.
- Figures describe people diagnosed in 2016-2022. Treatments approved since then are not reflected; for fast-moving cancers current survival is likely better.
- SEER groups by anatomical site. Where OnCo splits a site into subtypes (breast by receptor status, lung by histology, brain tumours) the same site figure is repeated and the caveat says which way the subtype differs.
- Staging follows SEER summary stage (localised, regional, distant), not TNM stage groups. Blood cancers are not staged this way and show no stage columns.
- Relative survival can exceed 100% when the diagnosed group has fewer deaths than the general population, as for localised breast cancer.
Source: SEER Cancer Stat Facts, Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program, National Cancer Institute, fetched 2026-09-09. Each row links to its SEER fact sheet.
Outside the United States
Survival differs between countries because of stage at diagnosis, access to treatment and registry practice. No figures are copied here from the international studies; these are the places to look:
- CONCORD-3: global surveillance of trends in cancer survival 2000-14 (Lancet, 2018): Five-year net survival for 18 cancers in 71 countries, from 322 population-based registries.
- EUROCARE-6: Survival of cancer patients in Europe, by country and cancer, from population-based registries.
- Cancer Research UK survival statistics: England-focused survival by cancer type and stage where available.
- Office for National Statistics: cancer survival in England: Age-standardised net survival by stage, published with NHS Digital.
Incidence by country is on cases by country; where the cancer sits in the body on the body map.
Cancers without a SEER fact sheet (28)
SEER publishes stat facts for common sites only. These cancers have no comparable table here; their pages describe prognosis in words where a source exists.
Adrenocortical carcinomaAppendiceal cancer and pseudomyxoma peritoneiBasal cell carcinomaBlastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm (BPDCN)Cancer of unknown primary (CUP)Cutaneous squamous cell carcinomaGestational trophoblastic neoplasiaHairy cell leukaemiaHepatoblastomaKaposi sarcomaMantle cell lymphomaMedulloblastomaMerkel cell carcinomaMesotheliomaMyelodysplastic syndromes / neoplasms (MDS)Myeloproliferative neoplasms (PV, ET, myelofibrosis)Nasopharyngeal carcinomaNeuroblastoma (paediatric)Neuroendocrine tumoursPeripheral T-cell lymphomas (including cutaneous T-cell lymphoma)Primary CNS lymphomaRetinoblastomaRhabdomyosarcomaSalivary gland cancersThymoma and thymic carcinomaUveal melanomaWaldenström macroglobulinaemiaWilms tumour (nephroblastoma)