Survival by stage of endometrial cancer

Survival rates are often used by doctors as a standard way of discussing a person's prognosis (outlook). Some patients with cancer may want to know the survival statistics for people in similar situations, while others may not find the numbers helpful, or may even not want to know them. If you decide that you don’t want to know them, stop reading here and skip to the next section.

The 5-year survival rate refers to the percentage of patients who live at least 5 years after their cancer is diagnosed. Of course, many people live much longer than 5 years (and many are cured). Also, although some people die of their cancer, others die from something else. These are observed survival rates, and include deaths from all causes, not just from cancer.

In order to get 5-year survival rates, doctors have to look at people who were treated at least 5 years ago. Improvements in treatment since then may result in a more favorable outlook for people now being diagnosed with endometrial cancer.

Survival rates are often based on previous outcomes of large numbers of people who had the disease, but they cannot predict what will happen in any particular person's case. Many other factors may affect a person's outlook, such as their general health and how well the cancer responds to treatment. Your doctor can tell you how the numbers below may apply to you, as he or she is familiar with the aspects of your particular situation.

The numbers below come from the National Cancer Data Base, and are based on people diagnosed between 2000 and 2002.

Endometrial adenocarcinoma

The statistics below for uterine carcinosarcoma are different from those given for endometrial adenocarcinoma in some important ways. First of all, the numbers given are for 5-year relative survival. These rates assume that some people will die of other causes and compare the observed survival with that expected for people without the cancer. This can better show the impact of a particular type and stage of cancer on survival. In addition, these numbers come from a different source -- the SEER program from the National Cancer Institute. Lastly, the stages listed are based on an older version of staging. In the most recent staging system, some of the cancers that were stage III might actually be considered stage I or II. These differences in staging may make it more difficult to apply these numbers to your own situation.

Uterine carcinosarcoma