Cancer Survival Just Hit a Historic High: 7 in 10 Patients Now Live 5+ Years

The United States has reached a remarkable milestone in cancer care: 70% of people diagnosed with cancer now survive five years or more, marking the highest survival rate in history. This represents a dramatic improvement from the 1970s, when only half of cancer patients lived at least five years after diagnosis.

The latest data from the American Cancer Society, based on diagnoses from 2015 to 2021, shows steady progress over decades. In the mid-1990s, the five-year survival rate was 63%, meaning we've seen a 7 percentage point increase in just over two decades.

What's Behind These Improved Survival Rates?

The dramatic improvement stems from several key advances in cancer treatment and prevention. The American Cancer Society estimates that 4.8 million cancer deaths were prevented from 1991 to 2023, thanks to better treatments, earlier detection methods, and reductions in smoking.

"It takes decades for research to understand and develop these more effective treatments, and now we're seeing the fruits of those investments," said Rebecca Siegel, the American Cancer Society's senior scientific director of surveillance research.

Scientists now have a much better understanding of how cancer develops and spreads, allowing them to engineer the immune system to stop or slow cancer growth. The major treatment breakthroughs include:

• Immunotherapy: These treatments help the immune system find and attack cancer cells, proving "game changing" for blood cancers like myeloma, where five-year survival rates jumped from 32% to 62% since the mid-1990s
• Targeted Therapy: These treatments target specific genes or proteins that help cancer cells grow, causing less damage to healthy cells and fewer side effects
• Early Detection Methods: Improved screening techniques allow doctors to catch cancers before they spread, when treatment is most effective

Which Cancers Are Seeing the Biggest Improvements?

Lung cancer, which kills more people than any other cancer in the United States, has seen particularly impressive gains. The five-year survival rate for regional lung cancer—found in the lung and nearby structures or lymph nodes—is now 37%, nearly double the 20% rate from the mid-1990s.

"Staying on treatment longer allows patients to live longer, and these less toxic treatments allow more sequences of therapy," explained Dr. Christopher Flowers, head of cancer medicine at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.

What Challenges Still Remain?

Despite these encouraging trends, significant obstacles persist. The American Cancer Society estimates there will be more than 626,000 cancer deaths and more than 2.1 million newly diagnosed cases in the United States this year.

Obesity represents a growing concern, as it increases risk for multiple cancer types. Colorectal cancer rates are rising in people under age 50, and overall breast cancer rates are climbing among women—both cancers where obesity can be a contributing factor.

"Our country has an epidemic of obesity, and cancers follow that," said Dr. Clark Gamblin, a gastrointestinal surgeon at the Huntsman Cancer Institute and chief of surgical oncology at the University of Utah.

Health disparities also threaten continued progress. Siegel noted "the enormous gap that we see in the cancer burden in people of color, specifically Native American people and Black people" as a major concern. Additionally, recent cuts to cancer research funding and potential disruptions to healthcare access could slow future advances.

The COVID-19 pandemic's impact on cancer screening may also affect future outcomes, as many routine screenings for asymptomatic cancers were delayed or missed entirely during lockdowns.