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Stomach Cancer survival statistics

This page presents stomach cancer survival statistics including one year survival, five year survival, ten year survival trends and survival by age.

Over the last 25 years 5-year relative survival rates for stomach cancer have tripled in Britain, but are still very low at around 15%.1, 2

The 1-, 5- and 10-year age-standardised relative survival rates for patients diagnosed in England & Wales between 1971 and 2001 are shown in Figure 3.1, Figure 3.2 and Figure 3.3. 2

Survival rates have risen consistently despite increasing numbers of gastric cardia cases which are more difficult to treat. The 1-year relative survival rate was only 14% in the early 1970s but is now 35% - which parallels a decline in peri-operative mortality. 3 There appears to be only a small fall in survival between 5- and 10-year rates.

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Relative survival is considerably higher for younger patients as Figure 3.4 shows. 4 For people under 50, 5-year relative survival rates are 19-22% compared to 7-14% for people over 70. At most ages, women have a slight survival advantage over men.

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In the UK most patients are diagnosed with widespread disease (stage four) and their 5-year survival rates are less than 5%. However, very good results can be obtained when patients have small tumours (less than 5cm), no serosal invasion or lymph node metastases.

For the latter, 5-year survival rates in excess of 80% can be achieved. The challenge is to increase the number of patients diagnosed at an early stage.

In Japan, where the disease is very common and population screening has been introduced, 5-year survival rates of 90% have been reported for early screen-detected disease. 5

References for stomach cancer survival

1. Gatta G,Ciccolallo L, Kunkler I et al.; EUROCARE Working Group., Survival from rare cancer in adults: a population-based study. Lancet Oncol, 2006. 7(2): p. 132-40
2. ISD Scotland Online. 2007 Information and Statitistics Division, NHS Scotland.
3. Macintyre I, Improving survival in gastric cancer: a review. Dig Surg, 1994. 11(2): p. 51-57
4. Office of National Statistics Cancer Survival: England and Wales, 1991-2001, twenty major cancers by age group. 2007.
5. Bowles, M.J. and I.S. Benjamin, ABC of the upper gastrointestinal tract: Cancer of the stomach and pancreas. Bmj, 2001. 323(7326): p. 1413-6.

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