Five-year cancer survival rate reveals wide gap by site — Ranging from over 90% to 12% — First National Registry compilation

The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare has released "five-year survival rate" figures of people diagnosed with cancer by location, showing that the prostate and thyroid achieved rates exceeding 90%, while the pancreas recorded approximately 12%, revealing significant differences among location. Although the National Cancer Center Japan (NCCJ) has regularly released compiled results, this marks the first noteworthy compilation based on data from the National Cancer Registry, which registers all patients.

The survey and compilation covered males and females aged 15 and older who were newly diagnosed with cancer in 2016. Among the survival rates by cancer site for both sexes combined, prostate cancer showed 92.1%, thyroid 91.9%, skin 91.1%, breast 88.0%, uterus 75.5%, and larynx 75.2%, all exceeding 70%. The results showed high survival rates for prostate cancer and breast cancer, which have the largest number of patients among men and women respectively.

On the other hand, cancer of the pancreas showed a low 11.8%, gallbladder and bile duct cancer was 23.0%, and lung cancer, which has many patients, also showed a still-low rate of 37.7%. Others included colon: 67.8%, malignant lymphoma: 64.4%, stomach: 64.0%, ovary: 58.6%, and leukemia: 43.4%.

For childhood cancers in patients under 15 years old, leukemia and similar cancers showed rates of 82.2%, neuroblastoma and similar cancers 78.5%, and central nervous system and similar cancers 60.8%.

The government started a system in 2016 to register everyone diagnosed with cancer nationwide, transitioning from the "regional cancer registry," which was limited to cooperating hospitals. Based on the Cancer Registration Promotion Act, all hospitals are required to register patient information.

According to the NCCJ 's "Latest Cancer Statistics," 555,918 cases were newly diagnosed in men and 432,982 in women in 2021. For both sexes combined, the most common were colon, lung, stomach, breast, and prostate in that order. For men, the order was prostate, colon, lung, stomach, and liver; for women it was breast, colon, lung, stomach, and uterus. By number of deaths by site for both sexes combined, the order was lung, colon, pancreas, stomach, and liver. The probability that a Japanese person will be diagnosed with cancer during their lifetime is approximately one in two for both men and women. The probability of dying from cancer is approximately one in four for men and one in six for women. As average life expectancy increases, the probability of developing cancer also rises, and cancer has now become a "common disease."

In March 2023, the government decided on the "Fourth Basic Plan to Promote Cancer Control Programs," establishing the goal to "promote cancer control measures that leave no one behind and aim to overcome cancer together with all citizens." The three pillars of this plan are "cancer prevention," "cancer medical care," and "living with cancer." In the field of cancer medical care, emphasis is placed on "cancer genomic medicine," which identifies cancer gene mutations and tailors treatment to each individual's constitution and condition, as well as measures against "refractory cancers" such as pancreatic cancer, which still have low survival rates.

The five-year cancer survival rates released through the national registry compilation serve as a reference for evaluating treatment and considering prognosis after diagnosis. However, the survival rate does not determine the "life expectancy" of individual patients. It is important to recognize that life expectancy varies greatly depending on the best possible treatment, the patient's own fight against the disease, and how family members and others around them provide support.