Survival of people diagnosed with cancer

Definition: The percentage of people diagnosed with cancer who survived for at least 5 years after diagnosis, relative to people of the same age and sex in the general population.

Note: The seven cancers presented are those with the highest incidence rates (Cancer in Australia, 2017)

Source: Australian Cancer Database 2013; Table S1.4.28.

  • The 5-year relative survival for all cancers combined for 2009–2013 was 68%, an increase of 20 percentage points from 48% in 1984–1988.
  • The 5-year relative survival for all cancers combined for females (69%) was similar to that for males (68%). The difference between relative survival for males and females reduced in size since the 1980s; the 5-year relative survival for females in 1984–1988 was 55%, and for males was 43%.
  • In 2009–2013, 5-year relative survival for all cancers combined was highest for people aged 20–24 at 91%, and lowest for people aged 75 and over (50%).
  • Of the seven cancers with the highest incidence rates, the 5-year relative survival rate for prostate cancer had the largest increase between 1984–1988 and 2009–2013 (from 58% to 95%) , followed by non-Hodgkin lymphoma (from 48% to 74%).

For more information, see Chapter 3.4 'Cancer'.