What Is Anal Cancer?
9. What Is the Prognosis for Someone with Anal Cancer?
Anal cancer is often caught early, which greatly increases the chance of recovery. Overall, the 5-year survival rate for this disease is 68%. In cases where the cancer is only in the anus, the 5-year survival rate is 82%. This rate goes down to 32% if cancer has spread to a distant part of the body.
The prognosis for anal cancer is determined by identifying the stage of the disease when first diagnosed. While someone with a very small tumor may only have stage I cancer, a large tumor or cancer that has spread to other organs may be Stage III or even Stage IV cancer.
