Prostate Cancer Prognosis
As cancer diagnoses go, prostate cancer is often a less serious one. Prostate cancer tends to be slow-growing and slow to spread. For many people who get it, prostate cancer is less concerning than other medical conditions they have.
For these reasons, and possibly because of earlier detection of low-grade prostate cancers, prostate cancer has one of the highest survival rates of any type of cancer. But that doesn't mean it can't be serious. It's the second leading cause of cancer death among men in the U.S., after lung cancer.
Average survival rates vary depending on your age, the stage of your cancer, and how long you've had it. In general, the earlier your cancer is discovered, the better your health outcome is likely to be.
Prostate Cancer Is Common With Aging
After skin cancer, prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men and in people assigned male a birth. About 1 in 8 will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime. And these are just the ones who are diagnosed. Among very elderly men who die of other causes, a surprising two-thirds may have prostate cancer that was never diagnosed.
But only 1 in 36 people who have prostate cancer die from it. That's because most prostate cancers are diagnosed in older people in whom the disease is more likely to be slow-growing and non-aggressive. Most of them eventually pass away from heart disease, stroke, or other causes -- not their prostate cancer.
Prostate Cancer Survival Rates
Thinking about survival rates for prostate cancer takes a little mental stretching. Keep in mind that most people are around 70 when diagnosed with prostate cancer. Over, say, 5 years, many will die from other medical problems unrelated to prostate cancer.
To determine the prostate cancer survival rate, these people are subtracted from the calculations. Counting only those who are left provides what's called the relative survival rate for prostate cancer.
Taking that into consideration, these are the relative survival rates:
Localized prostate cancer survival rate.Some92% of all prostate cancers are found when they're in the early stage, called local or regional. "Local" means there's no indication that cancer has spread beyond the prostate. "Regional" means it's spread (metastasized) to nearby lymph nodes or other structures on the body. Almost 100% of those who have local or regional prostate cancer will survive more than 5 years after diagnosis.
Metastatic prostate cancer survival rate.Fewer people (about 7%) have more advanced prostate cancer at the time of diagnosis. Once prostate cancer has spread beyond the prostate and nearby structures, survival rates fall. "Distant" prostate cancer has moved into farther-away areas of the body, such as the bones, liver, or lungs. Among those with distant prostate cancer, about one-third will survive for 5 years after diagnosis.
What about survival rates by time since diagnosis? When you group people with all stages of prostate cancer together:
- The 5-year relative survival rate is almost 100%. That means that 5 years after being diagnosed, the average person with prostate cancer is just about as likely to be alive as someone without the condition.
- The 10-year relative survival rate is 98%. Ten years after their prostate cancer diagnosis, they're only 2% less likely to be alive than anyone else.
- The relative 15-year survival rate is 95%. The average person with prostate cancer is 5% less likely to still be living than someone who doesn't have it.
Prostate Cancer Survival Rates by Age
The older you get, the more likely you are to develop prostate cancer. Here's how often it's diagnosed among those in different age groups:
- Under 50: 1 in every 456
- Age 50-59: 1 in 54
- Age 60-69: 1 in 19
- 70 and up: 1 in 11
Survival rate by age
Age also affects prostate cancer survival rates. According to a CDC report, those under 50 and over 80 have the lowest relative survival rates. Because those under 50 aren't usually tested for prostate cancer, it may be less likely to be diagnosed in younger people until it reaches the later stages.
Counting all stages of prostate cancer together, 5-year-relative survival rates by age are:
Under 49: 96.7%
50-54: 97.8%
55-59: 98.4%
60-64: 98.8%
65-69: 99.6%
70-74: 99.5%
75-79: 98.4%
80 and up: 84.6%
Prostate Cancer Survival Rates by Stage
As with all cancers, doctors use the term "stage" to describe the cancer's characteristics. Prostate cancer is divided into four stages:
- Stage I: Cancer cells are limited to within the prostate gland, usually in half or less of one side.
- Stage II: The cancer is still contained within the prostate but is more likely to spread. It may be in the supportive tissue that surrounds the gland. Stages I and II are considered localized.
- Stage III: Cancer cells have spread beyond the prostate to nearby areas. They may be found in the seminal vesicles, the glands that make semen. Stage III is considered regional.
- Stage IV: The cancer has moved farther out to areas like the bones, lymph nodes, liver, or lungs. Stage IV, also called metastatic or advanced, is considered distant.
The three main components doctors use to determine stage are known as TNM:
- T, for tumor, describes the size of the main area of prostate cancer and its spread.
- N, for nodes, describes whether prostate cancer has spread to any lymph nodes, and how many and in what locations.
- M, for metastasis, means distant spread of prostate cancer.
In terms of survival rates, those with prostate cancer can basically be divided into two groups:
Stage I-III prostate cancer survival rates
People with prostate cancer that's localized to the prostate or just nearby have a high long-term survival rate. Their 5-year relative survival rate is 99%, which means they're nearly as likely as someone without prostate to survive for 5 years.
Stage IV prostate cancer survival rate
Those whose prostate cancer has spread to distant areas, like their bones, may need more aggressive treatment. Their relative 5-year survival rate is 34%.
Racial Disparities in Prostate Cancer Rates
Your race and ethnic background influence your risk for prostate cancer. Black people are more likely to get prostate cancer than those of other races, and tend to get it at younger ages. It's more common in non-Hispanic white people than in Asian-American, Hispanic, and Latino people.
Black people with prostate cancer are also more likely to die from it than those of other races. Some research has found that Black men are nearly 80% more likely to be diagnosed with prostate cancer and more than twice as likely to die from it than white men.
According to CDC statistics, in 1999-2017 there were:
- 36.8 prostate cancer deaths in every 100,000 non-Hispanic black males
- 17.8 deaths per 100,000 non-Hispanic white males
- 15.4 deaths per 100,000 Hispanic males
Experts aren't sure exactly what causes these differences. The causes likely involve a mix of social and biological factors, including:
- Genetics
- Lifestyle
- Access to quality health care, including screening
- Discrimination and the stresses it causes
- Cultural mistrust of health care institutions
Takeaways
Prostate cancer often grows slowly, so the outlook for people who have it tends to be good. But the average prostate cancer life expectancy varies depending on several factors, including your age, how long you've had the cancer, and especially how far it's spread. The earlier your prostate cancer is discovered, the better your health outcome is likely to be.
Prostate Cancer Survival Rate FAQs
Is prostate cancer curable?
Prostate cancer is often curable if it's diagnosed in its early stages.
What is the longest you can live with metastatic prostate cancer?
The average 5-year survival rate for advanced prostate cancer is 34%, but your outlook depends on your individual case. While there's no cure for advanced prostate cancer, treatment may help relieve your symptoms and extend your life.
What is the prognosis for stage IV prostate cancer?
The prognosis for advanced cancer depends on many things, including where the cancer has spread, how fast it's spread, and how well treatments work for you. Your doctor will consider the stage of your cancer as well as your individual situation to determine the best treatment for you.
What is the survival rate of recurrent prostate cancer?
One study found that, among people whose prostate cancer came back after surgery to remove the prostate (radical prostatectomy), 91% were still alive after 5 years. The survival rate after 10 years was 77%.
