Bone Cancer Prognosis: What Are Survival Rates?
Survival rates indicate the percentage of people with a certain type and stage of cancer who survive the disease for a specific period of time after their diagnosis. In most cases, statistics refer to the 5-year survival rate. The 5-year survival rate is the percentage of people who are alive 5 years after diagnosis, whether they have few or no signs or symptoms of cancer, are free of disease, or are having treatment. Survival rates are based on large groups of people, and they cannot be used to predict what will happen to a particular patient. No two patients are exactly alike, and
bone cancer treatment and responses to treatment vary greatly.
Factors Influencing a Bone Cancer Prognosis
The American Cancer Society estimated that 2,570 people (1,480 men and 1,090 women) would be diagnosed with
bone cancer and that 1,210 men and women would die of bone cancer in 2005.
The bone cancer prognosis will depend on:
- The size, the location, and the type of bone cancer
- The bone cancer stage (how far the cancer has spread)
- How long the patient has had symptoms
- How much of the cancer is taken out by surgery and/or killed by chemotherapy
- The patient's age, blood, and other test results
- The patient's general health.
Bone Cancer Prognosis: Survival Rates
Survival rates can be calculated by different methods for different purposes. The survival rates presented here are based on the relative survival rate. The relative survival rate measures the survival of bone cancer patients in comparison to the general population to estimate the effect of cancer. The overall 5-year relative
bone cancer survival rate for 1995-2001 was 69.4 percent.
The 5-year relative bone cancer survival rates by race and sex were:
- 67.5 percent for Caucasian men
- 72.1 percent for Caucasian women
- 70.0 percent for African-American men
- 68.4 percent for African-American women.
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