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  1. Five-year relative survival for all cancers combined (ages 15 to 99) in Canada excluding Quebec has increased from 56% in 1992-1994 to 61% in 2000-2002.
  2. Relative survival can vary greatly by type of cancer. This variation can be seen in the four cancers that account for over 50% of the new cases diagnosed each year. In 2000-2002, five-year relative survival for lung cancer (both sexes) was low at 15%, while the prognosis for colorectal cancer (both sexes) was fair (colon 60%, rectum 62%) and breast cancer (female) and prostate cancer relative survival was high at 87% and 95% respectively.
  3. These variations in survival are also seen in less common cancers and variation can occur within a cancer type by age and sex.
  4. For example, the five-year relative survival for people diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), which accounts for approximately 4% of new cancer cases in any given year, improved from 51% in 1992-1994 to 60% in 2000-2002.
  5. The prognosis for NHL worsened, however, with increasing age at diagnosis; in 2000-2002, those diagnosed from 15 to 44 years fared much better than those 75 to 99 at diagnosis (75% versus 41%).
  6. In terms of differences by sex, survival for NHL was higher in females (62%) than in males (58%) in 2000-2002.