Cancer Survival Rates Reach Record Highs Nationwide

Quick Smiles:

• Seventy percent of cancer patients now survive at least five years after diagnosis.
• Breakthroughs in treatments and early detection have improved survival for many cancer types.
• Major declines in cancer death rates have saved millions of lives over the past decades.

The United States has marked a new milestone with 7-in-10 cancer patients living at least five years after being diagnosed. Significant improvements in survival rates for leukemia, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and ovarian cancer have contributed to this progress over the last 20 years.

Women diagnosed with breast cancer now experience a 92% five-year survival rate, and the figure is even higher for prostate cancer and skin melanoma. The 75th annual Cancer Statistics report by the American Cancer Society shows a remarkable 20% increase in average five-year survival rates compared to 50 years ago.

“The cancer death rate has declined by 34% since its peak in 1991, averting about 4.8 million cancer deaths as of 2023,” the ACS statistics report revealed.

This growth is credited to advances in early screening and innovative treatments, including immune checkpoint therapy, CAR T-cell therapy, and specialized drugs, which have made especially big impacts in leukemia outcomes. Even pancreatic and liver cancers, once seen as particularly grim, have shown significant survival improvements.

Later-stage cancer diagnoses now also bring more hope, with survival rates for cancers that have spread to distant organs rising from 17% in the 1990s to 35% today.

This wave of encouraging results is inspiring hope for millions and shining a light on the life-changing progress made possible by continued research and innovation. Celebrate these achievements and help spread optimism about our collective progress in fighting cancer.

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