Brain Cancer Survival: An Introduction
The
brain cancer survival rate indicates the percentage of people with a certain type and stage of brain cancer who survive the disease for a specific period of time after their diagnosis. In most cases, statistics refer to the 5-year brain cancer survival rate. The 5-year brain cancer survival rate is the percentage of people who are alive 5 years after a brain cancer diagnosis, whether they have few or no signs or symptoms of brain cancer, are free of disease, or are having treatment for brain cancer. The brain cancer survival rate is based on large groups of people, and it cannot be used to predict what will happen to a particular patient. No two patients are alike, and brain cancer treatment and responses to treatment vary greatly.
Factors Influencing Brain Cancer Survival
In general, the brain cancer survival rate will depend on:
- The type of brain cancer (see Types of Brain Tumors)
- The size and location of brain cancer
- The brain cancer stage
- The brain cancer grade
- The patient's general health.
Overall Brain Cancer Survival Rate
Survival rates can be calculated by different methods for different purposes. The brain cancer survival rates presented here are based on the relative survival rate. The relative survival rate measures the survival of patients with brain cancer in comparison to the general population to estimate the effect of cancer. The overall 5-year relative brain cancer survival rate for 1995-2001 was 33.3 percent.
The 5-year relative survival rates for brain cancer by race and sex were as follows:
- 32.1 percent for Caucasian men
- 33.5 percent for Caucasian women
- 37.7 percent for African-American men
- 37.5 percent for African-American women.
