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Publication, Part of

Cancer Survival in England, cancers diagnosed 2015 to 2019, followed up to 2020

National statistics

Publication Date:
3 Feb 2022
Geographic Coverage:
England
National Statistics

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Cancer Survival in England, cancers diagnosed 2015 to 2019, followed up to 2020

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Survival by cancer group
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Summary

This release summarises the survival of adults diagnosed with cancer in England between 2015 and 2019 and followed to 2020, and children diagnosed with cancer in England between 2002 and 2019 and followed to 2020.

Adult cancer survival estimates are presented by age, deprivation, gender, stage at diagnosis and geography.

Update 8th June 2022: We have now published an additional ODS data file ‘Cancer Survival in England Back Series, cancers diagnosed from 2006 to 2018: Adults’. This publication presents a back series of 1- to 5-year net survival for adults (15 to 99 years) diagnosed with cancer between 2006 to 2018 (5-year rolling cohorts). This back series was completed due to a change in methodology in the most recent publication (Cancers diagnosed between 2015 and 2019) to allow for comparison of net survival estimates over time.

Key Facts

Cancer survival is highest for melanoma of the skin

1-year survival is highest for melanoma for both males (97.6%) and females (98.8%). 5-year survival is also highest for melanoma for both males (89.9%) and females (94.8%).

Cancer survival is lowest for pancreatic cancer and mesothelioma

1-year survival is lowest for pancreatic cancers for both males (26.4%) and females (27.4%). 5-year survival is lowest for mesothelioma in males (6.3%) and pancreatic cancers in females (7.8%).

Cancer survival is lower in areas with higher deprivation

For most cancers, the survival decreases consistently for each deprivation quintile from least deprived to most deprived.

Cancer survival varies by stage at diagnosis

5-year survival by stage ranges from 3.2% (stage 4 lung cancer for males) to 101.1% (stage 1 melanoma for females).

Variation in survival by Cancer Alliances

For Cancer Alliances (CAs), the difference between the minimum and maximum 1-year survival estimates varies from 1.5 percentage points for melanoma to 12.2 percentage points for brain cancer.

Childhood cancer survival continues to improve

With 5-year survival seeing the greatest improvement over time; from 76.9% in 2002 to 85.0% in 2019.

All rates presented in key facts are age-standardised net survival apart from childhood which is age-standardised overall survival.

Acknowledgements

This work uses data that has been provided by patients and collected by the NHS as part of their care and support. The data are collated, maintained and quality assured by the National Disease Registration Service, which is part of NHS Digital.

On 1 October 2021, responsibility for the National Disease Registration Service (NDRS) transferred from Public Health England (PHE) to NHS Digital. NHS Digital is the data controller for this data. The National Cancer Registration and Analysis Service (NCRAS) as part of the NDRS is still responsible for collecting data on patients with cancer in England and continues to produce the cancer statistics publications.

Previous releases of these statistics can be found at the Cancer Survival in England Collection link below.

Last edited: 8 June 2022 3:45 pm