Cancer survival rates hit record highs, but deadliest types still put Americans at risk

People diagnosed with cancer are living longer than ever, according to a new report from the American Cancer Society (ACS).

Decades of cancer research have led to more effective treatment of the disease, so that cancer “is becoming less of a death sentence and more of a treatable chronic disease,” the 75th Annual Cancer Statistics Report stated.

The five-year cancer survival rate is now 70% in the United States, compared to 50% in the mid-1970s.

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These improvements reflect advances in treatment and earlier diagnosis, said the researchers, who also acknowledged that breast and prostate cancer screening has contributed to survival rates.

“For example, survival has improved in some types of leukemia due to the development of tyrosine kinase inhibitors, which allow most patients to have a near-normal life expectancy,” the researchers said in a news release.

The ACS report identified improvements in five-year survival for specific types of cancer. For example, liver cancer survival rates increased from 7% in the 1990s to 22% in 2023, lung cancer survival increased from 15% to 28%, and myeloma survival increased from 32% to 62%.

“Survival has improved for people with regional-stage disease (where tumors have spread from where they started to nearby organs) and distant-stage disease (where tumors have spread to organs farther from the starting point),” the organization added.

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“In fact, for all distant-stage cancers combined, the relative survival rate doubled from 17% in the mid-1990s to 35% for those diagnosed between 2015 and 2021.”

In an interview with News Digital, Dr. Calvin Chao, vice president of medical sciences at Artera in California, said the 70% five-year survival rate is a “clear sign of progress in cancer care, but statistics alone tell only part of the story.”

“Many factors contribute to these improved outcomes, and one of the most important is the use of personalized, clinically validated approaches that leverage predictive insights to guide therapy,” he continued.

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“This previously inaccessible knowledge now helps doctors identify which specific treatments are most likely to benefit each patient and which may offer little benefit.”

Chao emphasized the importance of reducing unnecessary side effects by avoiding therapies that “provide no additional benefit” to patients, while providing novel therapies to patients that “clearly do benefit.”

Dr. Yvonne Estrin, a breast radiologist at Pembroke Pink, also weighed in on these findings, agreeing that advances in treatment “play an important role in this progress.”

“But so do early detection and enhanced screening guidelines,” he told News Digital. “For example, with screening mammograms and annual mammograms now beginning at age 40, we are detecting breast cancer at a very early and treatable stage. This leads to decreased morbidity and mortality.”

Cancer cases rise as death rates fall

Despite the increase in life expectancy, the ACS noted that there will still be an estimated 2.1 million new cases of cancer in 2026, or about 5,800 diagnoses each day.

Among women, breast cancer cases are diagnosed more than twice as often as lung cancer, which comes in second place. Liver cancer, melanoma and uterine cancer are also increasing among women.

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The incidence of prostate cancer continues to rise among men, as it is also diagnosed twice as often as second-place lung cancer. According to the ACS, oral cavity cancer and pancreatic cancer are increasing in both sexes.

Dr. Marc Siegel, senior medical analyst for News, said there are “many important reasons” for the improvements in survival.

“There is more awareness about the risks and symptoms of cancer, and much better screening is being done,” he told News Digital. “Earlier diagnosis leads to earlier treatments.”

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He also attributes the increase in survival to more personalized approaches, specifically advances in targeted therapy (antibodies), immunotherapy, and advanced surgical techniques, including robotics.

“Lifestyle changes can also help combat the effects of cancer and treatments, as well as better follow-up in terms of screening and interventions,” Siegel added.

Cancer remains the most common cause of death in American men ages 60 to 79 and women ages 40 to 79. After heart disease, cancer is the second most common cause of death in the US.

The ACS estimates that 626,140 people in the US will die from cancer in 2026, representing approximately 1,720 deaths per day. Lung cancer causes the most of these, followed by colorectal cancer and pancreatic cancer.

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However, mortality rates are mostly declining. Since its peak in 1991, the cancer death rate has decreased by 34%, the ACS reported, and about 4.8 million cancer deaths have been averted through 2023.

In particular, deaths from lung cancer have decreased by 62% among men since 1990 and 38% among women since 2002.

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In men, the death rate from prostate cancer has decreased by 53% since 1993 and colorectal cancer rates decreased by 55% between 1980 and 2023.

In women, breast cancer death rates fell by 44% between 1989 and 2023.