Uterus (Womb) Cancer survival statistics

This page contains survival statistics for uterine cancer by trends over time, by age and geographical and socio-economic variations.

Ten-year relative predicted survival rates (75%) among women with corpus uteri cancer are second only to those for malignant melanoma of the most commonly diagnosed cancers for women in England and Wales, 2000-2001 1. Five-year survival is around 85% for stage I tumours, compared with 25% for women diagnosed with stage IV 2. Grade also has a bearing on prognosis, with around 81% five-year survival in patients with grade 1 stage Ic tumours compared with 42% for grade 3 tumours of the same stage, although the effect of grade is less marked with tumours diagnosed at stage Ib or Ia 2.

The latest cancer survival statistics available are for patients diagnosed in the period 2005-2009. We are currently working to update all the survival pages on this site. Find out why more up to date statistics are not yet available.

Trends in uterine cancer survival rates
Uterine cancer survival rates by age

Geographic and socio-economic variations in uterine cancer survival rates

There have been modest improvements in survival over the last 30 years. Five-year relative survival estimates for women diagnosed with cancer of the body of the uterus in 2000-01 are 77% 3, compared with 61% for women diagnosed in 1971-75 4, an improvement of 16% over the period. There have been similar improvements in shorter and longer term survival rates ( Figure 3.1) 1,4,5.

Figure 3.1: Age-standardised relative survival rates for corpus uteri cancer, age 15+, England and Wales, 1971-2001

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* PLEASE NOTE: Ten-year estimates for patients diagnosed in 1971-75, 1976-80 and 1981-85 and all estimates for 2000-01 are not age-standardised

As with many other types of cancer, survival is significantly lower in the oldest age groups. Women diagnosed with corpus uteri cancer aged 80-99 in England between 1998-2001 had estimated five-year relative survival of 52%, compared with 85% for women diagnosed aged 50-59 ( Figure 3.2) 6.

Figure 3.2: Five-year relative survival, corpus uteri cancer, by age, 1998-2001, England

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For women diagnosed in 1996-1999 there is a significant gap in five-year survival between the most deprived and least deprived women of 4.5% 1. Regional differences in survival rates reflect this deprivation gradient. Wales had the lowest relative one and five-year survival rates for women diagnosed in 1986-90, while the South and West region in England had the highest rates 4. One and five-year survival rates for women in England and Wales diagnosed with cancer of the corpus uteri in 1990-94 were significantly below the European average (90% and 76%) 7. Women in the United States diagnosed with cancer of the corpus uteri in 1995-2001 had five-year survival of 85% 8.

In the United States there are significant differences in survival between African American and white women 9. While this could partly be due to differences in treatment between the two groups, African American women are significantly more likely to get high-grade tumours and to present at a later stage 9.