Survival for laryngeal 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.

Your doctor can give you more information about your own outlook (​prognosis).

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

There are no UK-wide statistics available for laryngeal cancer survival by stage.

Survival statistics are available for each stage of laryngeal cancer in England. These figures are for people diagnosed between 2014 and 2016. These statistics are non-age-standardised, which means they don't take into account the age of the people with laryngeal cancer. 

Stage 1

Almost 90 out of 100 people (almost 90%) will survive their cancer for 5 years or more after diagnosis.

Stage 1 laryngeal cancer means the cancer is only in one part of the larynx and the vocal cords are still able to move. The cancer has not spread to nearby tissues, lymph nodes or other organs. 

Stage 2

Around 70 out of 100 people (around 70%) will survive their cancer for 5 years or more after they are diagnosed.

Stage 2 laryngeal cancer means the cancer has spread to another part of the larynx from where it started. In some types of laryngeal cancer, it has grown into the vocal cords and these may not be able to move. The cancer has not spread to lymph nodes or other organs. 

Stage 3

Almost 55 out of 100 adults (almost 55%) will survive their cancer for 5 years or more after they are diagnosed.

Stage 3 laryngeal cancer means the cancer has grown throughout the larynx but has not spread to other parts of the body. Or at least one vocal cord is fixed and can’t move. Or the cancer may also have spread to a nearby lymph node, which is no larger than 3cm across.

Stage 4

Almost 35 out of 100 adults (almost 35%) survive their cancer for 5 years or more after they are diagnosed.

Stage 4 laryngeal cancer means the cancer may have spread into tissue outside the larynx such as the thyroid gland or food pipe. It may have spread to lymph nodes which are further away and larger in size. And it may have spread to other parts of the body.

Survival for all stages

The UK survival statistics come from England and Wales. Scotland and Northern Ireland have a similar population and health care system. So we can apply these survival statistics to the whole of the UK.

Some organisations and researchers only report survival statistics for men with laryngeal cancer. This is because a much smaller number of women are diagnosed each year with laryngeal cancer than men. And statistics based on small numbers are less reliable and accurate.

Generally for men with laryngeal cancer in the UK:

• around 85 out of every 100 (around 85%) survive their cancer for 1 year or more

• more than 60 out of every 100 (more than 60%) survive their cancer for 5 years or more

• around 45 out of every 100 (around 45%) survive their cancer for 10 years or more

Conditional survival for laryngeal cancer

For some cancer types, prognosis improves as time passes. For example, your chances of surviving your cancer for a total of 5 years or more after diagnosis are higher if you have already survived a year since diagnosis. Doctors call this conditional survival. It gives an updated picture of your prognosis. It takes into account how long you have already survived since diagnosis. 

 For men in England who survive their laryngeal cancer for 1 year or more after diagnosis:

• 75 out of 100 men (75%) survive their cancer for 5 years or more

Read more about conditional survival

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 laryngeal cancer and the grade of the cancer cells can also affect your likely 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 laryngeal cancer, go to our Cancer Statistics section.