Prognosis and cure of long‐term cancer survivors: A population‐based estimation

Abstract

Background Increasing evidence of cure for some neoplasms has emerged in recent years. The study aimed to estimate population‐based indicators of cancer cure. Methods Information on more than half a million cancer patients aged 15‐74 years collected by population‐based Italian cancer registries and mixture cure models were used to estimate the life expectancy of fatal tumors (LEFT), proportions of patients with similar death rates of the general population (cure fraction), and time to reach 5‐year conditional relative survival (CRS) >90% or 95% (time to cure). Results Between 1990 and 2000, the median LEFT increased >1 year for breast (from 8.1 to 9.4 years) and prostate cancers (from 5.2 to 7.4 years). Median LEFT in 1990 was >5 years for testicular cancers (5.8) and Hodgkin lymphoma (6.3) below 45 years of age. In both sexes, it was ≤0.5 years for pancreatic cancers and NHL in 1990 and in 2000. The cure fraction showed a 10% increase between 1990 and 2000. It was 95% for thyroid cancer in women, 94% for testis, 75% for prostate, 67% for breast cancers, and <20% for liver, lung, and pancreatic cancers. Time to 5‐year CRS >95% was <10 years for testis, thyroid, colon cancers, and melanoma. For breast and prostate cancers, the 5‐year CRS >90% was reached in <10 years but a small excess remained for >15 years. Conclusions The study findings confirmed that several cancer types are curable. Became aware of the possibility of cancer cure has relevant clinical and social impacts.

Changes in life expectancy for cancer patients over time since diagnosis

“…This study used data collected by the network of population-based Italian cancer registries [8], which agreed to participate in the study and with at least 18 years of cancer registration as of December 31, 2011 (i.e., Ferrara, Genova, Modena, Parma, Ragusa, Sassari, Varese, and Veneto, representing 10% of the entire Italian population in 2010) [8], [12].…”

Exercise Levels and Preferences in Cancer Patients: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…In 2019 it was estimated that about 3.5 million Italians (5.3% of the entire population) are living after a cancer diagnosis [1]. Improvements in medical treatments have led to a substantial increase in the proportion of cancer patients with death rates similar to those of the general Italian population [2].…”

Does access to care play a role in liver cancer survival? The ten-year (2006–2015) experience from a population-based cancer registry in Southern Italy

“…A limitation of this study is that the Barcelona Clinic system routinely used by clinicians to stage HCC is not usually available in population-based cancer registry [51]. A further limitation is related to the lack of information for population-based cancer registries on the aetiology of primary liver tumours (viral, non-viral), which is relevant for clinical progression.…”

“…Clinical registries play an import role in identifying priorities to improve access to care [55][56][57] and clinical outcomes [10,58,59] of liver cancer patients with poor access to care. This study emphasises how populationbased cancer registries can play a supportive role in meeting the increasing need to prioritise cancer control measures [46].…”