Anal cancer
Survival depends on different factors. So no one can tell you exactly how long you will live.
Doctors usually work out the outlook for a certain disease by looking at large groups of people. Because this cancer is less common, survival is harder to estimate than for other, more common cancers.
Some of the statistics have to be based on a small number of people. Remember, they can't tell you what will happen in your individual case.
The terms 1 year survival and 5 year survival don't mean that you will only live for 1 or 5 years.
The NHS, other health organisations, and researchers collect information. They record what happens to people with cancer in the years after their diagnosis. 5 years is a common time point to measure survival. But some people live much longer than this.
5 year survival is the number of people who have not died from their cancer within 5 years after diagnosis.
Doctors use codes to say where a cancer is in the body. They use these codes when looking at statistics for cancer. Anal cancer has a different code to cancers in the anal margin. The anal margin is also called the perianal skin. These survival statistics do not include people with anal margin cancer
The stage of a cancer tells you about its size and whether it has spread. Your prognosis depends on the stage of your cancer at diagnosis.
There are no UK-wide statistics available for anal cancer survival by stage.
Survival statistics are available for anal cancer in England. These figures are for people diagnosed between 2015 and 2019.
The statistics for stage 1 anal cancer survival don’t take into account the age of the people with anal cancer. Statistics that do take into account the age (age-standardised statistics) are not available.
Almost 90 out of 100 people (almost 90%) will survive their cancer for 5 years or more after diagnosis.
More than 75 out of 100 people (more than 75%) will survive their cancer for 5 years or more after diagnosis.
Around 60 out of 100 people (around 60%) will survive their cancer for 5 years or more after diagnosis.
The statistics for stage 4 anal cancer survival don’t take into account the age of the people with anal cancer. Statistics that do take into account the age (age-standardised statistics) are not available.
Around 20 out of 100 people (around 20%) will survive their cancer for 5 years or more after they are diagnosed.
Read more about the stages of anal cancer
Generally, for people with anal cancer in England:
85 out of 100 people (85%) survive their cancer for 1 year or more
more than 60 out of 100 people (more than 60%) survive their cancer for 5 years or more
more than 50 out of 100 people (more than 50%) survive their cancer for 10 years or more
Your outcome depends on the stage of the cancer when it was diagnosed. This means how big it is and whether it has spread. It also depends on:
the type of anal cancer
how much the cells look like normal cells - this is called the grade of the cancer
how well the treatment works
if the cancer comes back after treatment
Some studies show that survival is better for women than men.
For more in-depth information about survival and anal cancer, go to our Cancer statistics section.
Last reviewed: 29 Apr 2025
Next review due: 29 Apr 2028
Anal cancer is when abnormal cells in the anus divide in an uncontrolled way. It can start in different parts of the anus and different types of cell.
Anal cancer symptoms may include bleeding, bowel changes and severe itching around the anus (pruritus). It is important to see your doctor if you have any of these symptoms.
If you have symptoms of anal cancer you should see your GP. They might ask you to have some tests and may refer you to a specialist.
The stage of anal cancer tells you how big it is and whether it has spread. The type tells you which type of cell the cancer started in.
Anal cancer is cancer that starts in the anus. The anus is also called the anal canal.
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