Doctors usually use survival rates as a standard method of discussing an individual's prognosis (outlook). Some cancer patients may not want to know the survival statistics for individuals in similar situations, while others want to find and know that statistics. If you wish to know read on.
The five-year survival rate refers to the percentage of individual's who live at least 5 years once their cancer is diagnosed. Of course, some of these individuals live much longer than five years, and many of them are cured now.
Five-year relative survival rates, such as the numbers below, assume that some individuals can die of other causes and compare the observed survival with that expected for individuals without the malignant neoplasm (cancer). This is a much better way to see the impact of the malignant neoplasm on survival.
According to the recent information, when including all men with prostate cancer:
Keep in mind that five-year survival rates are based on cancer patients diagnosed and first treated over five years ago, and ten year survival rates are based on cancer patients diagnosed over ten years ago. Modern ways of detection and treatment mean that a lot of prostate cancers are now found earlier and may be treated more effectively. If you're diagnosed with cancer this year, your outlook may be higher than the numbers reported above.
Survival rates by stage
The NCI(National Cancer Institute) maintains a huge national database on survival statistics for various forms of cancer. This database doesn't cluster malignant neoplasm by AJCC Cancer Staging, but instead groups malignant neoplasm into local, regional, and distant stages.
- Local stage means that there is no sign that the cancer has metastasized outside of the prostate. This corresponds to stages I and II by AJCC Cancer Staging. About four out of five prostate cancers are found during this early stage.
- Regional stage means that the cancer has metastasized from the prostate to nearby areas. This includes stage III cancers and also the}stage IV cancers that haven't metastasized to distant body parts, such as T4 tumors and cancers that have metastasized to nearby lymph nodes (N1).
- Distant stage includes the rest of the stage IV cancers – all cancers that have metastasized to bones, distant lymph nodes, or other organs (M1).
Five-year relative survival rates (%) by stage at the time of diagnosis
Stage | Five-year relative survival rate
Local Stage - nearly 100 percent
Regional Stage - nearly 100 percent
Distant Stage - twenty ninth percent
These survival rates can't predict what is going to happen in any specific man's case, and they are based on previous outcomes of huge numbers of men who had the disease.
Several other factors can have an effect on a man's outlook, like the PSA, the Gleason score, and also the man's overall health. Ask your doctor to tell you how the numbers above may apply to you, as she or he is familiar with the aspects of your specific situation.
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