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Oesophageal Cancer survival statistics

This page presents oesophageal cancer survival statistics including five and ten year survival rates, and survival by age at diagnosis and sex.

Population-based five-year relative survival rates for all patients diagnosed with oesophageal cancer in 2000-01 in England and Wales were 8% for both men and women (30% for men and 27% for women at one year after diagnosis). 1 Similar rates are reported for Scotland. 2

Oesophageal cancer survival rates

 
 

Oesophageal cancer five and ten year survival rates

An earlier study of patients in England and Wales estimated that five-year survival had improved by 1% for each quinquennium between 1971-75 and 1986-90 and suggested that this might be due to reductions in peri-operative mortality. 3

Women tend to have slightly higher survival rates than men ( Figure 3.1).

Figure 3.1: Five- and ten-year relative age-standardised survival for oesophageal cancer patients aged 15-99, England and Wales, 1971-2001

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One of the reasons for low survival rates is that many of the patients (40% in the Scottish Audit study) have severe co-existing medical conditions which preclude them from certain treatments 2.

In the Scottish study, one year survival for gastric and oesophageal cancer patients with minimal pre-morbid disease was 39.7% compared with 19.1% for patients with significant co-existing disease.

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Oesophageal cancer survival rates by age and sex

Many patients are also elderly (median age of gastric and oesophageal cancer patients in the Scottish Audit was 72 years) and survival decreases with increasing age. This is illustrated in Figure 3.2 using data for oesophageal cancer patients diagnosed in England and Wales in 1986-1990.

Figure 3.2: Five-year relative survival for patients diagnosed with oesophageal cancer in England and Wales during 1986-1990 by age at diagnosis

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References for oesophageal cancer survival

  1.  Office for National Statistics. Office for National Statistics
  2.  Gilbert FJ, Thompson, A.M., (eds), Scottish Audit of Gastric and Oesophageal Cancer. Report 1997-2000. A prospective audit. 2002, Scottish Audit of Gastric and Oesophageal Cancer Steering Group: Edinburgh.
  3.  Coleman, M.P., et al., Cancer Survival Trends in England & Wales, 1971-1995 Deprivation & NHS Region. 1999: The Stationery Office.