Cervical cancer - survival statistics

The latest age-standardised relative survival rates for cervical cancer in England during 2005-2009 show that 83.6% of women are expected to survive their disease for at least one year, falling to 66.6% surviving five years or more (Table 3.1).1,2 Broadly similar rates have been reported for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.3-5

Table 3.1: Cervical Cancer (C53), Age-Standardised One-, Five- and Ten-Year Relative Survival Rates, Adults (Aged 15-99), England 2005-2009 and England and Wales 2007

*Ten year survival rates have been predicted for patients diagnosed in 2007 (using the hybrid approach)

A common misconception is to treat five-year survival rates as ‘cure’ rates. However, for cervical cancer, survival falls by around 10% beyond five years after diagnosis, so for cervical cancer the five-year survival rate does not represent a ‘cure’ rate. (Table 3.1).6

The five-year relative survival rates for cervical cancer are among the highest of the 21 most common cancers in England.1 These high survival rates can be attributed in large part to the NHS Cervical Screening Program which was introduced in the 1980s. Screening can detect cervical cancers at an early stage when treatment is most likely to be successful.  

section updated 30/04/12

As with nearly all cancers, relative survival for cervical cancer is higher in younger women, even after taking account of the higher background mortality in older people. The reasons for this are likely to include a combination of better general health, more effective response to treatment and earlier diagnosis in younger people overall. There is also the fact that the NHS screening program has an upper age limit of 64 years. Differences in underlying tumour biology may also play a part.

The five-year relative survival rates for cervical cancer in England during 2005-2009 ranged from 89% in 15-39 year olds to 22% in 80-99 year olds (Figure 3.1).1

Figure 3.1: Cervical Cancer (C53), Five-Year Relative Survival Rates by Age, England 2005-2009

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section updated 30/04/12

As with the majority of cancers, relative survival for cervical cancer is improving. This can generally be attributed to faster diagnosis due to the NHS Screening Program, and improvements in treatment. However, there is still scope for improvement and increasing cancer survival rates remains a major priority of Improving Outcomes: A Strategy for Cancer.7 An outcome of this Strategy is the National Awareness and Early Diagnosis Initiative (NAEDI), which is a public sector/third sector partnership between the Department of Health, National Cancer Action Team, and Cancer Research UK. The role of NAEDI is to promote the earlier diagnosis of cancer, and this will involve researching ways to further improve survival rates from cervical cancer.

One-year relative survival rates have been used as an indicator of early diagnosis, since death before one year could be due to the disease being diagnosed at a late stage. One-year relative survival rates for cervical cancer increased from 75% in England and Wales during 1971-1975 to 83.6% in England during 2005-2009 (Figure 3.2).1,8-10

Figure 3.2: Cervical Cancer (C53), Age-Standardised One-Year Relative Survival Rates, England and Wales 1971-1995*, England 1996-2009

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*Survival rates are for England only from 1996 onwards

While relative survival rates are still influenced by early diagnosis after five years, they are also strongly dependent on the success of treatment. Five-year relative survival rates for cervical cancer increased from 52% in England and Wales during 1971-1975 to 66.6% in England during 2005-2009 (Figure 3.3).1,8-10

Figure 3.3: Cervical Cancer (C53), Age-Standardised Five-Year Relative Survival Rates, England and Wales 1971-1995, England 1996-2009

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*Survival rates are for England only from 1996 onwards

Ten-year relative survival rates for women diagnosed with cervical cancer increased from 46% in England and Wales during 1971-1975 to a predicted** 64.4% in England in 2007 (Figure 3.4).2,10,11

Figure 3.4: Cervical Cancer (C53), Age-Standardised Ten-Year Relative Survival Rates, England and Wales 1971-1995 and Predicted 2007, England 1996 to 2003

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*Survival rates are not age-standardised from 1971-1985
**The ten-year survival rates have been predicted for patients diagnosed in 2007 (using the hybrid approach)

section updated 30/04/12