Five-year survival rate
type of survival rate
The five-year survival rate is a type of survival rate used to estimate the prognosis of a particular disease, normally calculated from the point of diagnosis. Lead time bias from earlier diagnosis can affect interpretation of the five-year survival rate. There are absolute and relative survival rates, but the latter are more useful and commonly used.
Relative and absolute rates
Five-year relative survival rates are more commonly cited in cancer statistics. Five-year absolute survival rates may sometimes also be cited.
Absolute survival rate
This is the simplest of the two statistics. It is defined as the number of patients alive five years after the disease is diagnosed expressed as a percentage of the total number of patients who had initially been diagnosed.
Relative survival rate
This starts from the absolute survival rate but adjusts for the overall mortality rate of the general population. It is defined as the absolute survival rate divided by the percentage of the general population of corresponding sex and age expected to survive over the same five-year period.
Typically, cancer five-year relative survival rates are well below 100%, reflecting excess mortality among cancer patients compared to the general population.
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