Survival statistics for cervical cancer

Survival statistics for cancer are very general estimates and must be interpreted very carefully. Because these statistics are based on the experience of groups of people, they cannot be used to predict a particular person’s chances of survival.

There are many different ways to measure and report cancer survival statistics. Your doctor can explain these statistics and what they mean to you.

Net survival represents the probability (chance) of surviving cancer in the absence of other causes of death. It is used to give an estimate of the percentage of people who will survive cancer.

In Canada, the 5-year net survival for cervical cancer is 74%. This means that about 74% of people diagnosed with cervical cancer will survive for at least 5 years.

Survival varies with each stage of cervical cancer. Cervical cancer grows slowly. Generally, the earlier cervical cancer is diagnosed and treated, the better the outcome. Cervical cancer responds well to treatment, especially when treated in its early stages. There are many effective treatments available for cervical cancer.

Survival by stage for cervical cancer is reported as 5-year relative survival. Relative survival looks at how likely people with cancer are to survive for at least 5 years after their diagnosis compared to people in the general population who do not have cancer but who share similar characteristics (such as age and sex).

There are no specific Canadian statistics available for the different stages of cervical cancer. The following information comes from the National Cancer Institute’s Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) database. It includes survival rates for cervical cancer in the United States and is likely to have similar outcomes as those in Canada.

SEER lists survival based on how much the cancer has spread from where it originally started. It uses localized, regional and distant stages instead of the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) number staging system.

• Localized means there is no sign that the cancer has spread outside of the cervix or uterus.

• Regional means the cancer has spread outside the cervix and uterus to nearby lymph nodes.

• Distant means the cancer has spread to nearby organs (like the bladder or rectum) or distant parts of the body, such as the lungs or bones.

Talk to your doctor about your prognosis. A prognosis depends on many factors, including:

• your health history
• the type of cancer
• the stage
• certain aspects of the cancer, such as tumour size
• the treatments chosen
• how the cancer responds to treatment

Only a doctor familiar with these factors can put all of this information together with survival statistics to arrive at a prognosis.