prognosis of brain tumours

Last edited 05/2019

  • around 3 in 20 (14%) people diagnosed with brain cancer in England and Wales survive their disease for ten years or more (2010-11)

  • around a fifth (19%) of people diagnosed with brain cancer in England and Wales survive their disease for five years or more (2010-11)

  • 4 in 10 (40%) people diagnosed with brain cancer in England and Wales survive their disease for one year or more (2010-11)

  • brain cancer survival is higher in men than women at one-year but similar at five- and ten-years

  • brain cancer survival in England is highest for people diagnosed aged under 40 years old (2009-2013)

  • around 6 in 10 people in England diagnosed with brain cancer aged 15-39 survive their disease for five years or more, compared with only 1 in 100 people diagnosed aged 80 and over (2009-2013)

  • brain cancer survival is improving and has doubled in the last 40 years in the UK.

Five-year survival for brain cancer is highest in the youngest men and women and decreases with increasing age. Five-year net survival in men ranges from 57% in 15-39 year-olds to 1% in 80-99 year-olds for patients diagnosed with brain cancer in England during 2009-2013. In women, five-year survival ranges from 62% to 1% in the same age groups.

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