What was claimed
Cancer survival rates are at a record high.
Our verdict
This is correct, according to an index of one-year and five-year survival rates for all cancers.
Cancer survival rates at record levels
12 October 2016
“We are now having cancer survival rates at a record high.”
Theresa May, 12 October 2016
This is correct. Cancer survival rates in England are at a record high for adults aged 15 and over.
About 60% of patients diagnosed with cancer in 1998 survived for at least one year, compared to 70% of patients diagnosed in 2013. 2013 is as far as this year’s figures cover.
Between 1998 and 2009 the proportion of patients surviving five years or more went from 42% to almost 50%.
These figures are designed to show “real progress in cancer outcomes” over many years.
The estimates adjust for things like changes in the age and gender balance in the population over time, and whether certain types of cancer have become more or less common. This makes it easier to see if the likelihood of survival has changed over time.
Survival rates vary widely depending on the type of cancer. For example, adjusted for age, an estimated 96% of patients diagnosed with breast cancer between 2010 and 2014 survived for at least one year. In comparison, 34% of men and 40% of women diagnosed with lung cancer in the same period survived for at least one year.