Bone Cancer Survival Rate: An Introduction
The
bone cancer survival rate indicates the percentage of people with a certain type and stage of bone cancer who survive the disease for a specific period of time after their diagnosis. In most cases, statistics refer to the 5-year bone cancer survival rate. This is the percentage of people who are alive 5 years after a
bone cancer diagnosis, whether they have few or no signs or symptoms of bone cancer, are free of disease, or are having treatment for bone cancer.
The bone cancer survival rate is based on large groups of people, and it 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 the Bone Cancer Survival Rate
In general, the bone cancer survival rate 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.
Overall Bone Cancer Survival Rate
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.
