Yes; many cancers can be cured, especially when they are found early and treated properly [1]. In the United States, of every 10 people whose cancer was still only in the organ where it started when it was diagnosed, more than 9 are alive 5 years later; when the cancer has already reached distant parts of the body, this number is about 3 to 4 [3]. Testicular cancer, thyroid cancer, Hodgkin lymphoma and breast and prostate cancers found early have the best chance of cure; and some cancers that do not go away completely, such as chronic myeloid leukaemia, can be controlled for years with treatment [3, 4, 9].
Key points
- A cure means that no trace of the cancer is left after treatment and it will never come back; remission means that the signs of the cancer have reduced or disappeared, but it may come back [2].
- Finding cancer early makes the biggest difference: people whose cancer is still in the organ where it started are more than twice as likely to be alive 5 years later as people whose cancer has reached distant parts of the body [3].
- In testicular cancer, more than 9 in 10 patients are cured completely and live as long as healthy people of the same age [4].
- Pancreatic, liver, oesophageal and lung cancers are still harder to cure; lung and liver cancers are often found late, but they have a much better chance when they are found early [3].
- Many cancers that cannot be cured can be controlled for years; for example, most people with chronic myeloid leukaemia have a near-normal life expectancy with one tablet a day [3, 9].
What does a cure for cancer mean?
Doctors distinguish between these three situations:
- Cure: no trace of the cancer is left after treatment and the cancer will never come back [2].
- Remission: the signs and symptoms of the cancer have reduced (partial remission) or disappeared completely (complete remission). Even after a complete remission, the cancer may come back later [2].
- Long-term control: the cancer has not gone away completely, but treatment keeps it in check for years and the person lives with it, like a chronic illness [12].
If someone stays in complete remission for 5 years or more, some doctors say they are cured; even so, a small chance of the cancer coming back remains [2]. This time is not the same for every cancer: in a large European study, in testicular and thyroid cancer diagnosed before the age of 55, patients' outlook became almost the same as that of people of the same age without cancer less than 5 years after diagnosis; but in breast and prostate cancer, a slightly higher risk remained for at least 15 years [4]. Read more: What is cancer recurrence and how is it followed up?
Which cancers are the most curable?
The chance of cure depends above all on the type of cancer and its stage. According to the World Health Organization, common cancers such as breast, cervical, oral and colorectal cancer have a high chance of cure if they are found early and treated properly; and cancers such as testicular seminoma and several types of leukaemia and lymphoma in children are also cured most of the time with appropriate treatment [1].
| Cancer | What studies have shown |
|---|---|
| Testicular cancer | More than 9 in 10 patients are cured completely and live as long as healthy people of the same age [4] |
| Thyroid cancer | Almost everyone is alive 5 years later [3]; nearly 9 in 10 women and 7 in 10 men with the disease were cured completely [4] |
| Prostate cancer | When the cancer is within the prostate or just around it, almost everyone is alive 5 years later [3] |
| Breast cancer | When it is only in the breast, almost everyone is alive 5 years later; across all stages together, 9 in 10 [3] |
| Melanoma | When it is only in one spot of the skin, almost everyone is alive 5 years later [3] |
| Basal cell and squamous cell skin cancer | The most common cancers, yet fewer than 1 in 1,000 cancer deaths; basal cell carcinoma grows slowly and rarely spreads [11] |
| Early bowel cancer | When it is still within the bowel, 9 in 10 people are alive 5 years later [3] |
| Hodgkin lymphoma | Almost 9 in 10 people are alive 5 years later; in children and teenagers, almost everyone [3] |
| Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in children | The most common childhood cancer; more than 9 in 10 children with it are alive 5 years later [3] |
| Acute promyelocytic leukaemia (APL) | In a large study of patients at low or intermediate risk, treated with two drugs and no chemotherapy, almost everyone was alive and free of the disease 2 years later [8] |
The "alive 5 years later" figures come from US statistics for people diagnosed between 2015 and 2021; they cannot predict what will happen to one person [3].
Can cancer be cured if caught early?
Even in lung cancer, one of the hardest cancers to treat, when the tumour is only in the lung, 2 in 3 people are alive 5 years later; but when it has spread, only about 1 in 10 [3]. That is why taking symptoms seriously and having the screening tests suited to your age is one of the most important things we can do ourselves [1]. See these figures for each cancer in What are the stages of cancer?, find the screening tests you need in Cancer screening and read 5 steps to find cancer early.
Which cancers cannot be cured? What is the deadliest cancer?
Some cancers are much harder to cure than others, but even in these cancers some patients are cured, especially when the cancer is found early [3, 4]. "The deadliest cancer" can be understood in two ways:
- The cancers that cause the most deaths, because they are very common: worldwide, in order, lung, colorectal, liver, breast and stomach cancer [1]. The order differs from country to country: in Iran, for example, the most cancer deaths are from stomach cancer, followed by breast, lung and colorectal cancer [5].
- The cancers with the lowest chance of survival: in the United States, about 1 in 8 people with pancreatic cancer, about 2 in 10 with liver or oesophageal cancer, fewer than 3 in 10 with lung cancer and about 1 in 3 with a brain tumour are alive 5 years later [3].
One of the main reasons is that these cancers are often found late: in the United States, about 7 in 10 lung cancers and nearly 6 in 10 liver cancers are diagnosed when they are already advanced [3]. Even so, new treatments have improved the outlook for these cancers too; for example, the number of people alive 5 years after a diagnosis of liver cancer has almost tripled since the 1990s [3].
Cancers that can be controlled even when they do not go away
A cure is not the only good outcome of treatment. Some cancers do not go away completely, but treatment keeps them in check for years; and some advanced cancers can even be cured [12]:
- Chronic myeloid leukaemia: in the 1970s, about 2 in 10 patients lived for 5 years; today 7 in 10 do. With targeted tablets, most patients have a near-normal life expectancy [3, 9]. (Read more)
- Multiple myeloma: with newer drugs, the number of people who live for 5 years has almost doubled since the 1990s [3].
- Hormone-receptor-positive breast cancer that has spread: in a large study, with a hormone tablet plus a targeted tablet, half of the women lived for more than 5 years [10].
For cancers that have spread to distant parts of the body, read: Stage 4 cancer: what it means, treatment and life expectancy
Why can't every cancer be cured yet?
"Cancer" is not one disease; there are more than 100 types of cancer, and each behaves and is treated in its own way [6]. Several things make some cancers harder to cure:
- Cancer cells differ from one another: each person's cancer has its own combination of genetic changes, it picks up new changes as it grows, and even the cells within one tumour may differ [6]. If a drug kills most of the cells, the cells that do not respond to it may survive and grow again [7].
- Size of the tumour: the larger and more widespread a cancer is, the more likely it is to contain resistant cells; that is why finding cancer earlier is one of the main ways to overcome this problem [7].
- Hiding: some cancer cells hide from the immune system, or sit in places that drugs can hardly reach [6, 7].
Even so, the progress is real: in the United States, about 5 in 10 people with cancer lived for 5 years in the 1970s, and today 7 in 10 do [3]. Read more: What is cancer and how does it develop?
What can I do?
- Take new symptoms that do not go away seriously and see a doctor early; a cancer found early responds better to treatment [1]. See which screening tests you need.
- Complete your treatment fully and on time: Complete, on-time treatment without breaks.
- Ask your doctor what the goal of treatment is: cure, long-term control or easing symptoms? You decide how much you want to know about statistics and your outlook [2].
Frequently asked questions
Can a malignant cancer be cured?
Yes. "Malignant" means that the tumour is a cancer and can grow into nearby tissues or travel to other parts of the body [6]; it does not mean that it cannot be cured. All the cancers in the table above are malignant, and most of them are often cured completely [3]. Read more: What is the difference between a benign and a malignant tumour?
Which cancers are not deadly?
No cancer should be considered harmless and left untreated. But some cancers rarely cost anyone their life if they are treated. The most common of them are basal cell and squamous cell skin cancers: fewer than 1 in 1,000 cancer deaths are due to them; basal cell carcinoma rarely spreads, but if it is not treated it can seriously damage the tissues where it grows [11]. In thyroid cancer and in prostate cancer that has stayed within the prostate, almost all patients are also alive 5 years later [3]. Read more: Skin cancer (basal cell and squamous cell carcinoma)
If 5 years pass and the cancer has not come back, does it mean I am cured?
In many cancers, this is very likely; some doctors talk about a cure after 5 years of complete remission [2]. But it is not the same for every cancer: in stomach, bowel and womb cancer and in melanoma, patients' outlook became almost the same as that of people of the same age without cancer less than 10 years after diagnosis; but in breast and prostate cancer, a slightly higher risk remained for at least 15 years [4]. That is why you should keep to the follow-up plan your doctor gives you.
Can advanced or stage 4 cancer be treated?
Most cancers that have spread can be treated; the goal of treatment is often to control the cancer, some people live with it for years, and some advanced cancers can even be cured completely [12]. Full explanation: Stage 4 cancer: what it means, treatment and life expectancy
How long do people with cancer live?
There is no single number: life expectancy depends on the type of cancer, its stage, the features of the cancer cells, age and general health, and the response to treatment, and statistics only describe large groups of people [2]. Many patients are cured completely and have a normal lifespan [4]. Full explanation: What do cancer survival rates and life expectancy really mean?
Cure and survival indicators (for doctors)
For physicians
Cure fraction in EUROCARE-5. Dal Maso and colleagues used mixture-cure models in 7.2 million patients aged 15 to 74 years (42 population-based cancer registries in 17 European countries; diagnosed 1990 to 2007, follow-up to 2008) to estimate three indicators: the cure fraction (CF; the proportion of patients whose death rates equal those of the general population), the life expectancy of fatal cases (LEF) and the time to cure (TTC; the time for 5-year conditional relative survival to exceed 95%). CF: testis 94%, thyroid 87% in women and 70% in men, cutaneous melanoma 86% in women and 76% in men, breast 66%, prostate 63% and below 10% for liver, lung and pancreas. LEF ranged from 10 years in CLL to less than 6 months in liver, pancreatic, brain, gallbladder and lung cancer. TTC was less than 5 years for testicular and thyroid cancer diagnosed before the age of 55, and less than 10 years for stomach, colorectal, corpus uteri cancer and melanoma at all ages; in breast and prostate cancer, a small excess mortality (conditional relative survival below 95%) remained for at least 15 years [4].
5-year relative survival in SEER (diagnosed 2015 to 2021, followed to 2022). All cancers 70% (49% in 1975 to 1977); highest for thyroid 98%, prostate 98%, testis 95% and melanoma 95%, and lowest for lung 28%, liver 22%, oesophagus 22% and pancreas 13%. By stage, all cancers: localised 92%, regional 69% and distant 35% (lung: 65%, 37% and 10%). The 13% for pancreas partly reflects more incidentally detected neuroendocrine tumours, with 72% survival; ductal adenocarcinoma survival is 8%. Part of the survival gain in breast, prostate and kidney cancer reflects lead time and overdiagnosis. Survival in CML rose from 22% (mid-1970s) and in myeloma from 32% (mid-1990s) to 70% and 62%, respectively [3].
APL and CML. In APL0406 (low-to-intermediate risk, WBC at most 10 × 109/L), 2-year event-free survival was 97% with ATRA plus arsenic trioxide and 86% with ATRA plus chemotherapy [8]. In the Swedish national registry, patients with CML diagnosed in 2013 lose, on average, fewer than 3 life-years at all ages [9]. In MONALEESA-2 (HR+/HER2− advanced disease, first line), median overall survival was 63.9 months with ribociclib plus letrozole and 51.4 months with letrozole alone (HR 0.76) [10].
Scientific evidence
Scientific evidence
2 itemsLong-Term Outcomes of Imatinib Treatment for Chronic Myeloid Leukemia
Retinoic acid and arsenic trioxide for acute promyelocytic leukemia
Related cancer types
Related questions
References
12 referencesShow all references, 3 with a study cardClose the reference list
Numbers in the text, such as [1], refer to these sources. Sources with a “Study card” button are summarised in the site’s evidence library.
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- 5Iran, Islamic Republic of: Globocan 2024 fact sheet
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- 8Retinoic acid and arsenic trioxide for acute promyelocytic leukemia
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- 10Overall Survival with Ribociclib plus Letrozole in Advanced Breast Cancer
- 11
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