Cancer Survival: New Estimates for the Period 1989–2018 in Metropolitan France

Santé publique France, the Biostatistics and Bioinformatics Department of the Hospices Civils de Lyon, the Francim cancer registry network, and the National Cancer Institute have released the initial results of estimates on the survival rates of people with cancer in mainland France between 1989 and 2018.

thematic dossier

Cancers

Les cancers représentent en France la première cause de décès chez l’homme et la deuxième chez la femme. Santé Publique France copilote la surveillance épidémiologique et participe à leur prévention.

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These new data update the estimates published in 2016. Summary reports for each cancer site will be published as they become available. The first summaries cover 12 cancer sites. The next reports will be published in late 2020 and the first quarter of 2021, covering a total of 73 types and subtypes of cancer.

The first 12 cancer sites studied

  • cancers with poor prognosis: lung, pancreas, esophagus, liver, central nervous system, acute myeloid leukemias, ovary, lip-mouth-pharynx,

  • the most common cancers: breast, prostate, lung, colon, and rectum,

  • cancers covered by a national organized screening program: breast, colon and rectum, and cervix.

For each of these cancers, the results describe:

  • 1-year and 5-year survival rates for people diagnosed between 2010 and 2015, followed through 2018,

  • trends in 1-, 5-, and 10-year survival rates for people diagnosed between 1989 and 2015 and followed through 2018,

  • 20-year survival for individuals under the age of 75 at the time of diagnosis between 1989 and 2000, and followed through 2018.

Little improvement in 5-year net survival for cancers with a poor prognosis

The results highlight concerning trends for the high-risk cancers studied: a 5-year net survival rate that has improved only slightly (particularly for central nervous system tumors) or insufficiently, despite rising incidence rates (lung, pancreas, etc.). Improvements in survival are generally more pronounced among young adults than among older adults, except for ovarian cancer, where these improvements are observed across all age groups. Gender-based differences in survival are observed, with men faring worse for four cancers (esophagus, lung, central nervous system, lip-mouth-pharynx).

Furthermore, cancers of the colon and rectum, cervix, breast, and prostate continue to have a good or even very good prognosis, with estimated 5-year net survival rates of 63% for colon and rectal cancer and cervical cancer, 88% for breast cancer, and 93% for prostate cancer among those diagnosed in 2010–2015.