Which Cancer Types Are Easiest to Overcome?

"Can cancer be cured? Has anyone survived cancer?" are questions we frequently receive. Although a complete cure does not yet exist for every cancer, the growing ability to treat almost all early-detected cancers and some advanced cancers gives hope to patients and oncology professionals alike. So which cancers have the highest 5-year survival rates, expressing survival from cancer?

• Breast cancer 
• Prostate cancer 
• Testicular cancer
• Thyroid cancer
• The skin cancer malignant melanoma 
• Cervical cancer
• Hodgkin lymphoma

Cancer is a group of diseases caused by uncontrolled cell proliferation in certain body parts (see our article What Is Cancer? ). It may begin in one part of the body and then spread elsewhere. As a result, cancer can seriously affect surrounding tissues and organs.

Despite major investment and scientific research worldwide, cancer remains one of the world's two leading causes of death (the other is cardiovascular disease). In 2020, 19,3 million people were newly diagnosed, and 10 million cancer deaths occurred that year. Although cancer is more common in Western than Eastern countries, treatment outcomes are more successful in the West.

Successful treatment can clear all cancer signs and symptoms from a person's body. We call this remission . However, cancer may sometimes return years after remission (called relapse or recurrence).

Many factors, particularly cancer type and stage, affect the likelihood of treatment success.

To understand differences between cancer types and express treatment effectiveness, we often use the 5-year survival rate as a statistical term. It means the percentage of people alive 5 years after diagnosis. The 5-year survival rate does not show whether treatment has eliminated all cancer symptoms, but helps compare the relative severity of different cancers. It is important to remember that many other factors, such as early diagnosis, affect survival.

To give a more precise estimate for cancer, we also use 5-year relative survival ratesas a measure. Relative survival rates compare people with a particular disease with other healthy people in the general population. They account for other factors that may affect survival.

This article examines seven cancer types with the highest 5-year relative survival rates.

1. Breast cancer

People with stage 0 or 1 breast cancer have high survival. For stage 0 and 1 breast cancer, the 5-year relative survival rate is % 99-100. Thus there is almost no survival difference between people at these stages and people without the disease.

Stages describe tumor size and location. Stage 0 means abnormal cell growth in breast tissue without spread into the breast tissue yet [ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) and lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS)]. These changes are not full breast cancer but are treated because of their potential to become cancerous.

In stage 1 breast cancer, small tumors are present:

• typically smaller than 2 cm
• and not spread to another body site.

However, considering all breast cancer stages, 5-year survival is %89.7.

2. Prostate cancer

For stage 1 and 2 prostate cancers, 5-year relative survival is around % 99. At these stages, tumors grow very slowly or not at all and can be treated easily. Your doctor may recommend only active surveillance for a prostate cancer not increasing in size if they consider it harmless.

3. Testicular cancer

For testicular cancer, 5-year relative survival is 99 percent for localized tumors (not spread beyond the testicles) and 96 percent for regional tumors involving nearby tissues or lymph nodes. In early stages, doctors may surgically remove one or both testicles to treat the condition. Testicular cancer cells also respond particularly well to chemotherapy.

Testicular cancer surgery is an effective treatment for this cancer type.

4. Thyroid cancer

Thyroid cancer in stages 1 and 2 has % 98–100 relative survival. The thyroid is a neck gland producing hormones that support healthy body function.

Most thyroid cancers grow quite slowly, allowing more time for treatment. Even if cancer spreads to surrounding neck tissues, removing the thyroid gland can be an effective way to eliminate it.

5. Melanoma

The skin cancer malignant melanoma is usually diagnosed by dermatologists using a special magnifier called a dermatoscope. Early detection and treatment improve survival. Although melanoma cells are among the most aggressive cancer cells, survival has improved substantially since immunotherapies were discovered; melanoma is the cancer in which immunotherapies are most effective.

Melanoma's 5-year relative survival in stages 1A and 1B is 92 and 97 percent, respectively.

Melanoma is one of the 3 main skin cancer types and accounts for around %5 of skin cancers. Its high survival reflects the ease of detecting it on the skin.

6. Cervical cancer

Cervical cancer in stages 0 and 1A has % 93 relative survival at 5 years. Early diagnosis allows cells beginning to show cervical abnormalities to be treated before spreading elsewhere. Even in later stages, cervical cancer cells tend to grow slowly, so treatment may remain effective. Almost all cervical cancers result from HPV infection, and early diagnosis is possible with Pap smears and HPV-DNA testing for this purpose.

7. Hodgkin lymphoma

In Hodgkin lymphoma, cancer cells are usually an abnormal type of B lymphocyte. This abnormal type is called Reed–Stenberg cells . Hodgkin lymphoma has many subtypes, distinguished by examining cells under a microscope. However, cases are generally “classic” Hodgkin lymphoma.

Hodgkin lymphoma can occur at any age. It affects men more often and can generally be completely cured.

Hodgkin lymphoma in stages 1 and 2 has 5-year relative survival around 90 percent.

Hodgkin lymphoma's high relative survival results from its good response to radiation therapy. Its good response to existing cancer treatments and the effectiveness in lymphomas of new immunotherapies such as CAR-T mean survival is high even in people with more advanced stages.

Conclusion

There is currently no complete cure for all cancers, because cancers are a highly complex disease group numbering a thousand when subgroups are included. However, successful treatment can cause remission, meaning all signs and symptoms disappear. Early detection and treatment substantially improve the likelihood of remission and the person's outlook. The availability, for the most common cancers, of cancer screening should also be considered an opportunity.

A cancer diagnosis does not mean someone will soon die; first, we need to overcome this fear with its thousands of years of history. We certainly do not claim all cancers are cured, but progress in cancer treatment cannot be ignored. As recently as the 1970s, of every 3 cancer patients only 1 survived at least 5 years; today, of every 3 patients, 2 live at least 5 years.

The graph above summarizes progress in cancer medicine. As shown, averaged across all cancers, 5-year survival rates expressing complete recovery are approaching %70. Progress has been slower in cancers such as lung, liver and pancreatic cancer, but since 2013, cancer immunotherapies' entry into clinical practice has also led to rapid improvement in lung cancer survival.