Survival for bowel cancer
Bowel cancer is cancer that starts in the large bowel (colon cancer) or back passage (rectal cancer). It is also known as colorectal cancer.
Survival depends on many factors. No one can tell you exactly how long you will live.
Below are general statistics based on large groups of people. Remember, they can’t tell you what will happen in your individual case.
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 watch 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
No UK-wide statistics are available for different stages of bowel (colorectal) cancer. Survival statistics are available for each stage of bowel cancer in England. These figures are for people diagnosed between 2016 and 2020 and followed up to 2021.
Stage 1
Around 90 out of 100 people (around 90%) with stage 1 bowel cancer will survive their cancer for 5 years or more after they're diagnosed.
Stage 2
Around 85 out of 100 people (around 85%) with stage 2 bowel cancer will survive their cancer for 5 years or more after they're diagnosed.
Stage 3
65 out of 100 people (65%) with stage 3 bowel cancer will survive their cancer for 5 years or more after they're diagnosed.
Stage 4
Around 10 out of 100 people (around 10%) with stage 4 bowel cancer will survive their cancer for 5 years or more after they're diagnosed.
A 2010 UK study looked at people with bowel cancer that had spread to the liver. For people where surgery was available, around 45 out of 100 people (around 45%) survived their disease for 5 years or more after the operation. This includes people who may have died from causes not related to cancer.
Further information
You can view survival figures for Wales and Northern Ireland on our early diagnosis pages. Survival statistics for Scotland are not available.
Cancer survival in England, cancers diagnosed 2016 to 2020, followed up to 2021
NHS England
These figures are for people diagnosed in England between 2016 and 2020.
These statistics for cancer by stage are for net survival. Net survival estimates the number of people who survive their cancer rather than calculating the number of people diagnosed with cancer who are still alive. In other words, it is the survival of cancer patients after taking into account that some people would have died from other causes if they had not had cancer.
Surgical management and outcomes of colorectal cancer liver metastases
E J A Morris and others
British Journal of Surgery Year, 2010. Volume 97, Part 7, Pages 1110-1118
Survival for all stages of bowel cancer
Generally for people with bowel cancer in England:
- around 80 out of 100 people (around 80%) survive their cancer for 1 year or more
- almost 60 out of 100 people (almost 60%) survive their cancer for 5 years or more
- almost 55 out of 100 people (almost 55%) survive their cancer for 10 years or more
1 and 5 year survival statistics
Cancer survival in England, cancers diagnosed 2016 to 2020, followed up to 2021
NHS England
These figures are for people diagnosed in England between 2016 and 2020.
10 year survival statistics
Cancer survival in England: adult, stage at diagnosis and childhood - patients followed up to 2018
Office for National Statistics
These figures are for people diagnosed in England between 2013 and 2017.
1, 5 and 10 year statistics are for net survival. Net survival estimates the number of people who survive their cancer rather than calculating the number of people diagnosed with cancer who are still alive. In other words, it is the survival of cancer patients after taking into account that some people would have died from other causes if they had not had cancer.
What affects survival?
Your outlook depends on the stage of the cancer when it was diagnosed. This means how far it has spread through the layers of the bowel 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 health and fitness also affect survival, the fitter you are, the better you may be able to cope with your cancer and treatment.
Some bowel cancers make a protein called carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA). People with high CEA levels before treatment may have a worse outlook.
Bowel cancer can sometimes cause a blockage in the bowel (bowel obstruction). If this happens, you have a small risk of developing a hole in the wall of the bowel. This is called perforation. People with bowel cancer who have an obstruction or perforation of the bowel have a worse outlook.
More statistics
For more in-depth information about survival and bowel cancer, go to our Cancer Statistics section.
