Cancer survival rates reach record high, but deadliest types still put Americans at risk

People who have received a cancer diagnosis are living longer than ever, according to a new report from the American Cancer Society (ACS).

Decades of cancer research have led to more effective treatment of the disease, so that cancer is "becoming less of a death sentence and more of a treatable chronic disease," the 75th annual Cancer Statistics Report stated.

The five-year cancer survival rate is now 70% in the U.S., compared to 50% in the mid-1970s.

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These improvements reflect advances in treatment and earlier diagnosis, said the researchers, who also recognized that screenings for breast cancer and prostate cancer have contributed to survival rates.

"For example, survival has improved for some types of leukemia because of the development of tyrosine kinase inhibitors, which allow most patients to have a near-normal life expectancy," the researchers said in a press release.

The ACS report identified five-year survival improvements for specific types of cancer. For example, rates of liver cancer survival spiked from 7% in the 1990s to 22% in 2023, lung cancer survival increased from 15% to 28%, and myeloma survival rose from 32% to 62%.

"Survival has improved for people with regional-stage disease (when tumors have spread from where they started to nearby organs) and distant-stage disease (where tumors have spread to organs further away from the starting point)," the organization added.

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"In fact, for all distant-stage cancers combined, the relative survival rate doubled from 17% in the mid-1990s to 35% for those diagnosed from 2015 to 2021."

In an interview with Fox News Digital, Dr. Calvin Chao, VP of medical science at Artera in California, commented that the 70% five-year survival rate is a "clear signal of progress in cancer care, but statistics alone tell only part of the story."

"Many factors contribute to these improved outcomes, and one of the most significant is the use of personalized, clinically validated approaches that leverage predictive insights to guide therapy," he went on.

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"These previously inaccessible insights now help clinicians identify which specific treatments are most likely to benefit each patient, and which may offer little advantage."

Chao stressed the importance of reducing unnecessary side effects by avoiding therapies that provide "no added benefit" for patients, while providing novel therapies to patients who "clearly do benefit."

Dr. Yvonne Estrin, a breast radiologist at Pembroke Pink, also weighed in on these findings, agreeing that treatment advances "play a major role in this progress."

"But so do early detection and improved screening guidelines," she told Fox News Digital. "For example, with screening mammography and annual mammograms now beginning at age 40, we are detecting breast cancer at a very early and treatable stage. This leads to a decrease in morbidity and mortality."

Despite the uptick in life expectancy, the ACS noted that there will still be an estimated 2.1 million new cancer cases in 2026, or about 5,800 diagnoses every day.

Among women, cases of breast cancer are diagnosed more than twice as often as lung cancer, which ranks second. Liver cancer, melanoma and uterine cancer are also on the rise among women.

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Prostate cancer incidence continues to rise for men, as it is also diagnosed twice as often as second-ranking lung cancer. Oral cavity cancer and pancreatic cancer are reportedly rising for both genders, according to the ACS.

Dr. Marc Siegel, Fox News senior medical analyst, said there are "many important reasons" for the survival improvements.

"There is more awareness of cancer risks and symptoms, and much better screening," he told Fox News Digital. "Earlier diagnosis is leading to earlier treatments."

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He also attributes the survival boost to more personalized approaches, specifically advances in targeted therapy (antibodies), immunotherapy, and advanced surgical techniques, including robotics.

"Lifestyle changes can also help combat the effects of cancer and treatments, as well as better follow-up in terms of scans and interventions," Siegel added.

Cancer continues to be the most common cause of death in American men between 60 and 79 years old and women between 40 and 79. After heart disease, cancer is the second most common cause of death in the U.S.

The ACS estimates that 626,140 people in the U.S. will die from cancer in 2026, amounting to about 1,720 deaths per day. Lung cancer causes most of these, followed by colorectal cancer and pancreatic cancer.

However, death rates are mostly declining. Since its peak in 1991, the cancer death rate has declined by 34%, the ACS reported, with about 4.8 million cancer deaths prevented as of 2023.

In particular, lung cancer deaths have dropped 62% for men since 1990 and 38% for women since 2002.

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In men, the death rate for prostate cancer has decreased 53% since 1993 and colorectal cancer rates dipped 55% between 1980 and 2023. 

In women, breast cancer death rates dropped 44% between 1989 and 2023.