Stomach cancer
Below are general statistics based on large groups 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.
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.
Read more about the stages of stomach cancer
There are no UK-wide statistics available for stomach cancer survival by stage.
Survival statistics are available for each stage of stomach cancer in England. These figures are for people diagnosed between 2013 and 2017.
Please bear in mind that these statistics do not take into account what treatment people had.
65 out of 100 people (65%) with stage 1 stomach cancer will survive their cancer for 5 years or more after they're diagnosed.
Around 35 out of 100 people (around 35%) with stage 2 stomach cancer will survive their cancer for 5 years or more after they're diagnosed.
Around 25 out of 100 people (around 25%) with stage 3 stomach cancer will survive their cancer for 5 years or more after they're diagnosed.
There are no 5 year survival statistics for stage 4 cancer. This is because sadly most people don't live for that long after diagnosis.
The Office for National Statistics does provide statistics for 1 year survival for people with stage 4 stomach cancer.
(Please remember, this doesn't mean you will only live 1 year. It relates to the number of people who are still alive 1 year after their diagnosis of cancer. Some of these people might live longer than 1 year.)
Around 20 out of 100 people (around 20%) with stage 4 stomach cancer will survive their cancer for 1 year or more after their diagnosis.
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.
Generally for adults with stomach cancer in the UK:
45 out of every 100 (45%) survive their cancer for 1 year or more
around 20 out of every 100 (around 20%) survive their cancer for 5 years or more
around 15 out of every 100 (around 15%) survive their cancer for 10 years or more
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 fitness and other health conditions also affect survival. Health conditions could affect the treatments you can have. And good general fitness might help you cope better with your cancer and treatment.
For more in-depth information about survival and stomach cancer, go to our Cancer Statistics section.
Last reviewed: 26 Feb 2025
Next review due: 26 Feb 2028
Stomach cancer is when abnormal cells in the stomach start to grow and divide in an uncontrolled way. The stomach is part of the digestive system.
There is support available to help you cope during and after stomach cancer treatment. This includes diet tips to help you eat well.
The stage of a cancer tells you how big it is and how far it’s spread. It helps your doctor decide which treatment you need.
Your treatment depends on whereabouts your cancer is in the stomach. How big it is, whether it has spread anywhere else in your body and your general health.
Stomach cancer is cancer that starts anywhere inside the stomach or the stomach wall. It’s also called gastric cancer.
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