What is the survival rate of radiation therapy?

Survival of prostate cancer

Survival depends on many factors. No one can tell you exactly how long you will live.

Below are general statistics based on large groups of people. Remember, they can’t tell you what will happen in your individual case.

Your doctor can give you more information about your own outlook (prognosis). You can also talk about this with the Cancer Research UK information nurses on freephone 0808 800 4040, from 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday.

Survival for prostate cancer is generally good, particularly if you are diagnosed early.

Survival by stage

There are no UK-wide statistics available for prostate cancer survival by stage.

Survival statistics are available for each stage of prostate cancer in England. These figures are for people diagnosed between 2013 and 2017.

Stage 1

Stage 1 means the cancer is in only half of one side of the prostate, or less. It is completely contained within the prostate gland.

Almost everyone (almost 100%) will survive their cancer for 5 years or more after they are diagnosed.

Stage 2

Stage 2 means the cancer is in more than half of one side of the prostate. But it is still completely contained within the prostate gland.

Almost everyone (almost 100%) will survive their cancer for 5 years or more after they are diagnosed.

Stage 3

Stage 3 means the cancer has broken through the covering (capsule) of the prostate gland. It may have spread into tubes that carry semen (seminal vesicles).

Around 95 out of every 100 men (around 95%) will survive their cancer for 5 years or more after diagnosis.

Stage 4

Stage 4 can mean different things, including:

• the cancer has spread into nearby body organs, such as the back passage or bladder
• the cancer has spread to nearby lymph nodes
• the cancer has spread to other parts of the body outside the pelvis, such as the lungs or liver

Around 50 out of every 100 men (around 50%) will survive their cancer for 5 years or more after they are diagnosed.

Cancer survival by stage at diagnosis for England, 2019
Office for National Statistics

These statistics are for net survival. Net survival estimates the number of people who survive their cancer rather than calculating the number of people diagnosed with cancer who are still alive. In other words, it is the survival of cancer patients after taking into account the background mortality that they would have experienced if they had not had cancer.

Survival for all stages of prostate cancer

Generally for men with prostate cancer in England:

• more than 95 out of 100 (more than 95%) will survive their cancer for 1 year or more
• more than 85 out of 100 (more than 85%) will survive their cancer for 5 years or more
• almost 80 out of 100 (almost 80%) will survive their cancer for 10 years or more

Survival of prostate cancer is also reported in Scotland and Northern Ireland. But it is difficult to compare survival between these countries because of differences in the way the information is collected.

Cancer survival by stage at diagnosis for England, 2019
Office for National Statistics

These statistics are for net survival. Net survival estimates the number of people who survive their cancer rather than calculating the number of people diagnosed with cancer who are still alive. In other words, it is the survival of cancer patients after taking into account the background mortality that they would have experienced if they had not had cancer.

What affects survival

Your outlook depends on the stage of the cancer when it was diagnosed. This means how big it is and whether it has spread.

The type of prostate cancer and grade of the cancer also affects your survival. Grade means how abnormal the cells look under the microscope. The most common system used to grade prostate cancer is the Gleason score. Men with a higher Gleason score have a poorer outlook.

• Find out more about the Gleason score

Your outlook also depends on your PSA level. A high PSA level may mean your cancer grows more quickly.

Your general health and fitness also affect survival. The fitter you are, the better you are able to cope with your cancer and treatment.

About these statistics

The terms 1 year survival and 5 year survival don’t mean that you will only live for 1 or 5 years.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) and researchers collect information about what happens to people with cancer in the years after their diagnosis. 5 years is a common time point to measure survival. But some people live much longer than this.

5 year survival is the number of people who have not died from their cancer within 5 years after diagnosis.

More statistics

For more in-depth information about survival and prostate cancer, go to our Cancer Statistics section.

References

• Cancer Survival in England: adults diagnosed between 2013 and 2017 and followed up to 2018
  Office for National Statistics, Last accessed May 2022
• The prognostic significance of combined gleason scores and PSA values as indicators of age standardized relative five-year survival: An analysis of the SEER database 2004-2014
  A Correa and others
  Journal of Clinical Oncology, 2018. Vol 36, Number 15
• AJCC Cancer Staging Manual (7th Edition)
  American Joint Committee on Cancer, 2010
• Prostate Cancer Survival — NCIN Data Briefing
  National Cancer Registration and Analysis Service (NCRAS), last accessed May 2022

ADT Add-On to Radiotherapy Improves Prostate Cancer Survival Rates

Cleveland, OH—The addition of hormone therapy to radiotherapy treatment consistently improves overall survival in men with intermediate- and high-risk prostate cancer, according to a new study.

The first-of-its-kind meta-analysis, which was published in The Lancet Oncology, provides «the strongest level of evidence so far to the magnitude of the benefit of ADT treatment intensification with radiotherapy for men with localized prostate cancer,» according to researchers from University Hospitals and Case Western Reserve University. «Adding ADT and prolonging the portion of ADT that follows radiotherapy is associated with improved metastasis-free survival in men, regardless of risk group, age, and radiotherapy dose delivered; however, the magnitude of the benefit could vary and shared decision making with patients is recommended.»

The authors note that randomized trials have been conducted for decades assessing the effect of adding hormone therapy to prostate cancer treatments, but inconsistencies in timing and duration of treatment recommendations have made it difficult to draw solid conclusions.

«Our research team set out to conduct a first-of-its-kind, comprehensive analysis by collecting individual patient data from each and every randomized trial conducted around the world, and performed a meta-analysis of the impact of various treatment intensification strategies using hormone therapy with radiation therapy for localized prostate cancer,» stated senior author Daniel E. Spratt, MD. «Our goal is to better personalize therapy for prostate cancer patients, by providing the most precise and accurate estimates of the benefit of hormone therapy.»

Among key findings were that:

• Patients with intermediate- and high-risk prostate cancer have an increased survival rate from the addition of hormone therapy to radiotherapy, despite age or dosages of radiotherapy.
• Extended duration of adjuvant ADT with radiotherapy improved survival rates in younger and older men, in men treated with lower and higher doses of radiotherapy, and in men with both intermediate- and high-risk prostate cancer.
• Longer use of neoadjuvant hormone therapy before radiotherapy did not benefit men in any outcome measured.

«We now have estimates that show the benefit of adding and prolonging adjuvant hormone therapy for clinically relevant subsets of patients,» Dr. Spratt pointed out. «Our team showed that treating a group of approximately 10 to 15 men with hormone therapy or extended adjuvant hormone therapy, for at least 18 months, prevented one man from developing metastatic disease 10 years after treatment. This is dependent on patient and tumor-specific factors but gives us a more precise estimate to work with when it comes to recommending treatment options.»

The study team searched studies with metastasis-free survival as the primary outcome. Ultimately, 12 trials were included that provided individual data on 10,853 patients with a median follow-up of 11·4 years (IQR 9·0-15·0).

The content contained in this article is for informational purposes only. The content is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice. Reliance on any information provided in this article is solely at your own risk.

Cancer Survival Rate

When first diagnosed with cancer, many people ask about their prognosis. You might want to know whether your cancer is relatively easy or more difficult to cure. Your doctor can’t predict the future, but can make an estimate based on other people’s experiences with the same cancer.

It’s up to you whether you want to know the survival rates related to your cancer. The numbers can be confusing and frightening.

What is a cancer survival rate?

Cancer survival rates or survival statistics tell you the percentage of people who survive a certain type of cancer for a specific amount of time. Cancer statistics often use an overall five-year survival rate.

For instance, the overall five-year survival rate for bladder cancer is 78 percent. That means that of all people who have bladder cancer, 78 of every 100 are living five years after diagnosis. Conversely, 22 out of every 100 are dead within five years of a bladder cancer diagnosis.

Cancer survival rates are based on research from information gathered on hundreds or thousands of people with a specific cancer. An overall survival rate includes people of all ages and health conditions who have been diagnosed with your cancer, including those diagnosed very early and those diagnosed very late.

Your doctor may be able to give you more specific statistics based on your stage of cancer. For instance, 52 percent, or about half, of people diagnosed with early-stage lung cancer live for at least five years after diagnosis. The five-year survival rate for people diagnosed with late-stage lung cancer that has spread (metastasized) to other areas of the body is 4 percent.

Overall survival rates don’t specify whether cancer survivors are still undergoing treatment at five years or if they’ve become cancer-free (achieved remission). Other types of survival rates that give more specific information include:

• Disease-free survival rate. This is the number of people with cancer who achieve remission. That means they no longer have signs of cancer in their bodies.
• Progression-free survival rate. This is the number of people who still have cancer, but their disease isn’t progressing. This includes people who may have had some success with treatment, but the cancer hasn’t disappeared completely.

Cancer survival rates often use a five-year survival rate. That doesn’t mean cancer can’t recur beyond five years. Certain cancers can recur many years after first being found and treated. For some cancers, if it has not recurred by five years after initial diagnosis, the chance of a later recurrence is very small. Discuss your risk of a cancer recurrence with your doctor.

How are cancer survival rates used?

You and your doctor might use survival statistics to:

• Understand your prognosis. The experience of other people in your same situation can give you and your doctor an idea of your prognosis — the chance your cancer will be cured. Other factors include age and general health. Your doctor uses these factors to help you understand the seriousness of your condition.
• Develop a treatment plan. Statistics can also show how people with your same cancer type and stage respond to treatment. You can use this information, along with your goals for treatment, to weigh the pros and cons of each treatment option.

For instance, if two treatments give you similar chances for remission, but one has more side effects, you might choose the option with fewer side effects.

In another example, a treatment may offer a chance for a cure, but only for 1or 2 people out of every 100. For some, these chances are promising enough to put up with side effects. For others, the chance for a cure isn’t worth the treatment’s side effects.

Your doctor can help you understand the benefits and risks of each treatment.

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