Prostate Cancer Survival Rate
Prostate cancer has one of the highest survival rates among other cancers, as it grows slowly and is non-aggressive. Skin cancer is the most common cancer, followed by prostate cancer in men. Statistics reveal that 1 in 36 men die from prostate cancer. Most cases of the cancer of prostate are detected in elderly men, since the disease is slow growing.
More often than not, prostate cancer cases are detected in older men over 70 years of age. This means that if we consider their survival rate over the next five years, most of them die of other age-related causes, which are not related to prostate cancer.
Deducting these men to calculate prostate cancer survival rate, we will get the relative survival rates for this cancer.
- In 99% of cases, men detected with the most common type of prostate cancer, survive longer than five years following their diagnosis.
- The prognosis is even better for men whose cancer is localized to the prostate. Among the 99% men suffering from prostate cancer, 90% have localized cancer. This increases their survival rate. Almost all of these men are expected to live at least five years.
- According to American Cancer Society, the relative 15-year survival rate of men diagnosed with prostate cancer is 91%
Stages of Prostate Cancer
Doctors use the TNM staging system to determine the stage of prostate cancer in men. The staging system describes the extent of the cancer’s growth, wherein
- T stands for the size and extent of tumor
- N is used for measuring the extent of the spread of cancer to lymph nodes
- M categorizes the spread of cancer to different organs, such as bladder, lungs, liver, also known as metastasis
A score of T3 gives the doctor an idea of the growth of the tumor beyond the prostate. Once the TNM score is calculated, doctors will combine it with the Gleason score. The figure will then be added to PSA levels. This helps them assign a specific stage to the cancer.
All in all, prostate cancer survival rate is favorable, primarily because of the slow growth and spread of the disease and advancements in treatment technology.