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Three-year survival rate of cancer averages 70%

2018.10.01

Speaking of cancer treatment results, “5 year survival rate” is often used.
That’s because in many cancers, the situation after five years is one of the indications as to
whether the cancer has been cured.
On the other hand, in case of refractory cancer, “development of effective diagnostic and
therapeutic methods is the challenge,” and “the necessity to observe the survival rate at an
earlier stage in a timely manner” has also been pointed out.
So, for the first time, the National Cancer Research Center announced the “three-year survival
rate” indicating the proportion of people diagnosed with cancer living three years later.

Three-year survival rate of surgical cancer patients is 90%
What was announced this time is the 3-year survival rate of those diagnosed with cancer in
2011.
“Three-year relative survival rate” was calculated by aggregating and analyzing the data of
306,381 patients in 268 facilities that can attain a survival rate of 90% or more among the
“participating cancer diagnosis and treatment hospitals nationwide”.
By the way, the relative survival rate is the survival rate adjusted to exclude the rate of death
from accident or illness other than cancer. It shows how the proportion of those who are
diagnosed with cancer as surviving after 5 years is lower than the proportion of those who
survive in 5 years from the whole Japanese population.
The 3 – year relative survival rate of cancer was 71.3%.
By gender, males were 68.2% and women 75.5%.
Also, specifically for those who excised the cancer by surgery or endoscopic treatment, it was
high, 88.1%.

Three-year cancer survival rate by each cancer
The 3-year survival rate of each cancer is as follows.
· Stomach cancer 74.3%
· Colorectal cancer 78.1% (colon cancer 77.1%, rectal cancer 79.9%)
· Liver cancer 53.6%
· Lung cancer 49.4% (small cell lung cancer 18.1%, non small cell lung cancer 52.4%)
· Breast cancer 95.2% (※ Only women)
· Esophageal cancer 52.0%
· Pancreatic cancer 15.1%
· Cervical cancer 78.8%
· Uterine body cancer 85.5%
· Prostate cancer 99.0%
· Bladder cancer 73.5%
Some of them are over 90% including prostate cancer and breast cancer, while others, such as
pancreatic cancer and lung cancer are below 50%.
However, in the case of lung cancer, the 3-year survival rate will rise to 88.0% if found in stage
I, 88.5% if radical surgery is performed. Even pancreatic cancer, which is said to be tough, has
a 3-year survival rate of 54.8%, more than half, if it is found in stage I.
Generally, the cure rate and survival rate increase if any cancer is found at an early stage. In
order to find it early, it is useful to have medical examinations from the outset prior to symptoms,
and it will be useful to have a family doctor with whom you can easily consult.

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