People With Common Cancer Types are Likely to Live for a Decade

People, who develop skin, breast and prostate cancers are most likely to survive 10 years after diagnosis, according to recent estimates drawn by the Office of National Statistics (ONS). Those who develop skin cancer are the most likely to still be alive a decade after their diagnosis, with 89.4 percent of sufferers able to expect this lifespan. As per a report in The Guardian, the ONS stated that more than four in five (80.6 percent) women diagnosed with breast cancer, the most common form of cancer in females, should also survive for 10 years.

Anticipated 10-year survival is almost as high for those with prostate cancer, the commonest cancer among men. As many as 79.9 percent of men diagnosed with it can expect to be alive for ten years However, only 5.7 percent of those diagnosed with pancreatic cancer will live that long, as will only 9.8 percent of people who develop lung cancer and 11.9 percent of those with brain cancer.

The figures are part of calculations the ONS made for the first time that project how many people diagnosed with certain forms of cancer in 2015 are expected to survive for a decade. They estimate future survival rather than capturing the number of years cancer patients have already lived since diagnosis. The findings are based on all those diagnosed with the disease regardless of at what stage their cancer was identified.

The figures come as evidence continues to suggest that new drugs, better treatments and earlier diagnosis of the disease are helping to sustain the gradual increase in survival of some, but not other, cancer types. For example, 96.4 percent of women diagnosed with breast cancer in 2009-13 lived for at least a year, while 86.7 percent survived for five years, the largest numbers on record. For men, survival rates at one year and five years are highest for those with testicular cancer. Women diagnosed with melanoma of the skin have the best chance of the same highest one-year and five-year outcomes.

Rebecca Smittenaar, Cancer Research UK's statistics manager said, "Cancer survival is improving and has doubled over the last 40 years. For a number of cancers, including breast and skin cancer, more than eight out of 10 people will survive their disease." "Research has led to better treatments, new drugs, more accurate tests, earlier diagnosis and screening programmes, giving patients a better chance of survival," she added.

For example, one-year survival for breast cancer has crept up from 95 percent for those diagnosed in 2007-11 to 96.4 percent of those who developed it in 2009-13, while five-year survival rose over the same period from 85 percent to 86.7 percent.

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Source-ANI