Survival statistics for uterine cancer

Survival statistics for cancer are very general estimates and must be interpreted very carefully. Because these statistics are based on the experience of groups of people, they can’t be used to predict a particular person's chances of survival.

There are many different ways to measure and report cancer survival statistics. Your doctor can explain these statistics and what they mean to you.

Cancer statistics are currently collected, analyzed and reported based on the sex assigned at birth, with male/men and female/women categories. We need to address gaps in how statistics are collected to better understand cancer in transgender, non-binary and gender-diverse people.

Net survival represents the probability (chance) of surviving cancer in the absence of other causes of death. It’s used to give an estimate of the percentage of people who will survive cancer.

In Canada, the 5-year net survival for uterine cancer is 82%. This means, on average, about 82% of people diagnosed with uterine cancer will survive for at least 5 years.

Survival varies a lot with each type or subtype of tumour and the stage of uterine cancer.

Survival by stage of uterine cancer is reported as a 5-year overall survival. Overall survival is also called observed survival. It is the percentage of people with a certain type of cancer who are expected to live for at least a specified period of time after their diagnosis. Doctors often use the overall or observed survival rate when they talk about a prognosis.

There are no specific Canadian statistics available for the different stages and types of uterine cancer. The following information comes from a variety of sources and may include statistics from other countries. It’s also important to note that older staging systems may have been used in reporting the following survival statistics, so the stage may not be defined the same as it is by your doctor.

The 5-year overall survival for uterine leiomyosarcoma is between 50% and 55% for stage 1 and between 8% and 12% for stages 2, 3 and 4. The 5-year overall survival for all stages of uterine leiomyosarcoma is estimated to be between 30% and 50%.

The 5-year overall survival for endometrial stromal sarcoma is greater than 90% for stages 1 and 2 and approximately 60% for stages 3 and 4.

The 5-year overall survival for undifferentiated sarcoma is approximately 25%.

Talk to your doctor about your prognosis. A prognosis depends on many factors, including:

• your health history
• the type of cancer
• the stage
• the treatments chosen
• how the cancer responds to treatment

Only a doctor familiar with these factors can put all of this information together with survival statistics to arrive at a prognosis.