Survival for cervical cancer
Survival depends on many factors. No one can tell you exactly how long you will live.
Below are general statistics based on large groups of people. Remember, they can’t tell you what will happen in your individual case.
About these statistics
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.
Survival by stage for cervical cancer
The stage of a cancer tells you about its size and whether it has spread. Your outlook (prognosis) depends on the stage of your cancer at diagnosis.
There are no UK-wide statistics available for cervical cancer survival by stage.
Survival statistics are available for each stage of cervical cancer in England. These figures are for people diagnosed between 2013 and 2017. These statistics are non-age-standardised which means they don't take into account the age of the people with cervical cancer.
Stage 1
Around 95 out of 100 people (around 95%) will survive their cancer for 5 years or more after diagnosis.
Stage 2
Almost 70 out of 100 people (almost 70%) will survive their cancer for 5 years or more after diagnosis.
Stage 3
More than 40 out of 100 people (more than 40%) will survive their cancer for 5 years or more after diagnosis.
Stage 4
Around 15 out of 100 people (around 15%) will survive their cancer for 5 years or more after being diagnosed.
Cancer survival by stage at diagnosis for England, 2019
Office for National Statistics
These statistics are for net survival. Net survival estimates the number of people who survive their cancer rather than calculating the number of people diagnosed with cancer who are still alive. In other words, it is the survival of cancer patients after taking into account that some people would have died from other causes if they had not had cancer.
These statistics don’t take into account the age of the people with cervical cancer. Statistics that do take into account the age (age-standardised statistics) are not available. This means that both the age of people with cancer, and the stage at which they were diagnosed, influence the survival figures.
Survival for all stages of cervical cancer
Generally, for people with cervical cancer in England:
- more than 80 out of every 100 (more than 80%) will survive their cancer for 1 year or more after they are diagnosed
- around 60 out of every 100 (around 60%) will survive their cancer for 5 years or more after diagnosis
- around 50 out of every 100 (around 50%) will survive their cancer for 10 years or more after diagnosis
1 and 5 year survival statistics
Cancer survival in England, cancers diagnosed 2016 to 2020, followed up to 2021
NHS England
These figures are for people diagnosed with cervical cancer in England between 2016 and 2020.
10 year survival statistics
Cancer survival in England: adult, stage at diagnosis and childhood - patients followed up to 2018
Office for National Statistics
These figures are for people diagnosed in England between 2013 and 2017
These statistics are for net survival. Net survival estimates the number of people who survive their cancer rather than calculating the number of people diagnosed with cancer who are still alive. In other words, it is the survival of cancer patients after taking into account that some people would have died from other causes if they had not had cancer.
What affects survival
Your outlook depends on the stage of the cancer when it was diagnosed. This means how big it is and whether it has spread.
The type of cancer and grade of the cancer cells can also affect your survival. Grade means how abnormal the cells look under the microscope.
Your general health and fitness also affect survival. The fitter you are, the better you may be able to cope with your cancer and treatment.
More statistics
For more in-depth information about survival and cervical cancer, go to our Cancer Statistics section.
