Survival Rates Have Improved, Study Finds

Cancer patients have a better chance than previously believed of living for 15 or 20 years after their disease is diagnosed, according to a study of 1.7 million cancer patients published in today’s Lancet. Survival rates are as much as 11% higher than earlier estimates suggest, according to the study by Hermann Brenner of the German Center for Research on Aging. Brenner used data from the U.S. National Cancer Institute, comparing 1998 cancer cases and cases diagnosed between 1978 and 1993.

Improvements in early detection and treatment of cancer, which have boosted patients’ chances of long-term survival, aren’t reflected in older estimates, the study found.

More up-to-date statistics show the biggest increases in 20-year survival rates for melanoma, Hodgkin’s disease and cancers of the prostate, ovary, breast and rectum.