National Cancer Center: The 5-year survival rate for cancer patients is 66.1%.

Recently NHK News On-line reported the following:

がん患者の５年生存率は66.1％ 国立がん研究センター

2019年8月8日 4時01分

がん患者を治療によってどれくらい救えたかを示す、５年生存率は、最新の集計で66.1％になると、国立がん研究センターが発表しました。生存率のデータは病院ごとでも公表され、国立がん研究センターは、患者が病院の特徴を知る参考の１つになるとしています。

国立がん研究センターは、平成22年までの２年間に全国にあるがんの拠点病院277か所で治療を受けた、およそ57万人のがん患者のデータを分析しました。

その結果、がん患者を治療によってどのくらい救えたかを示す、診断から５年後の生存率は、全体で66.1％でした。

がんの種類別にみますと、最も高いのは前立腺がんで98.6％、続いて乳がんが92.5％、子宮体がんが82.1％、子宮頸がんが75.3％、患者数の多い大腸がんが72.9％、胃がんが71.6％、ぼうこうがんが69.5％となっています。

一方で、最も低かったのは、すい臓がんで9.6％、続いて肝臓がんが40％、肺がんが40.6％、食道がんが44.4％となっています。

また、大腸がんや胃がんなど５種類のがんについては、病院ごとにステージ別の生存率も公表されていて、国立がん研究センターのウェブサイトで見ることができます。

病院ごとのデータでは、がん以外の持病があるなど、治療が難しい患者を診療している病院では生存率が低くなる傾向があるということで、東尚弘 がん登録センター長は、「データは単純には比較できないが、患者が病院の特徴を把握し、主治医と相談する際の参考にはできる。データの精度が高まり、調査態勢が確立しつつあるので、今後のがん治療の評価や改善につなげたい」と話しています。

Translation

The National Cancer Center announced that the latest 5-year survival rate, which showed how much cancer patients were saved by treatment, would be 66.1%. Survival data were also published at each hospital, and the National Cancer Center said it would be a reference for patients to know the characteristics of the hospital.

The National Cancer Center analyzed data from approximately 570,000 cancer patients treated at 277 cancer base hospitals throughout the country for the two years until 2010.

As a result, the overall survival rate after diagnosis was 66.1%, showing how much cancer patients were saved by treatment.

By type of cancer, the highest was prostate cancer 98.6%, followed by breast cancer 92.5%, endometrial cancer 82.1%, cervical cancer 75.3%, the popular colorectal cancer 72.9%, stomach cancer 71.6%, and bladder cancer 69.5%.

On the other hand, the lowest was 9.6% for pancreatic cancer, followed by 40% for liver cancer, 40.6% for lung cancer, and 44.4% for esophageal cancer.

In addition, for five types of cancer, such as colorectal cancer and stomach cancer, the survival rate for each stage was published for each hospital and could be viewed in the National Cancer Center website.

According to hospital-specific data, about chronic disease other than cancer, there was a tendency for the low survival rate in hospitals that treated patients who were difficult to treat. On this Naohiro Higashi Director of Cancer Registration Center said “Although it cannot be simply compared, it can be used as a reference, a patient can understand the characteristics of a hospital and consults with an attending physician. The accuracy of data is increasing, and the investigation system is in the processing of being established. I want to be connected to future cancer treatment evaluation and improvement. "

     I think an average recovery of 66% has not much meaning unless we look into its individual components. It is interesting to note that in Japan  prostate cancer has the highest recovery rate of 98.6%, followed by breast cancer 92.5% and endometrial cancer 82.1%.