Survival rates for salivary gland cancer by stage

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 do not 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).

5-year relative survival rates assume that some people will die of other causes and compare the observed survival with that expected for people without the cancer. This is a more accurate way to describe the prognosis for patients with a particular type and stage of 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 salivary gland 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 age, the type and grade of the cancer, and how well the cancer responds to treatment. Your doctor is familiar with the aspects of your particular situation and can tell you how the numbers below may apply to you. The numbers below come from the National Cancer Database, and are based on people diagnosed with cancer of the major salivary glands between 1998 and 1999.

For more information on the grades and types of salivary gland cancer, see the section called “What is salivary gland cancer?”