Survival for laryngeal cancer
Survival depends on different factors. So no one can tell you exactly how long you will live.
Doctors usually work out the outlook for a certain disease by looking at large groups of people. Because this cancer is less common, survival is harder to estimate than for other, more common cancers.
Some of the statistics have to be based on a small number of people. Remember, they can't tell you what will happen in your individual case.
Your doctor can give you more information about your own outlook (
).
You can also talk about this to the Cancer Research UK nurses on freephone 0808 800 4040, from 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday.
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
Survival statistics are available for each stage of laryngeal cancer in England. The figures below are for men with laryngeal cancer. There are no survival statistics for women, because there is not enough data available.
The figures we present use the number staging system. This staging system is slightly different to the T stages used by doctors. We provide a brief description of each stage to help you find the relevant information. But if you are uncertain, do ask your doctor or nurse to help you understand this information.
Stage 1
Around 90 out of 100 adults (around 90%) will survive their cancer for 5 years or more after diagnosis.
Stage 1 laryngeal cancer is only in one part of the larynx and the vocal cords are still able to move. The cancer has not spread to nearby tissues, lymph nodes or other organs.
Stage 2
Almost 70 out of 100 adults (almost 70%) will survive their cancer for 5 years or more after they are diagnosed.
Stage 2 laryngeal cancer has spread to another part of the larynx from where it started. In some types of laryngeal cancer, it has grown into the vocal cords and these may not be able to move. The cancer has not spread to lymph nodes or other organs.
Stage 3
Almost 60 out of 100 adults (almost 60%) will survive their cancer for 5 years or more after they are diagnosed.
Stage 3 laryngeal cancer has grown throughout the larynx but has not spread to other parts of the body. OR at least one vocal cord is fixed and can’t move. OR the cancer may also have spread to a nearby lymph node, which is no larger than 3cm across.
Stage 4
The survival statistics for stage 4 laryngeal cancer don’t take into account the age of the people with laryngeal cancer. Statistics that do take into account the age (age-standardised statistics) are not available.
More than 30 out of 100 adults (more than 30%) survive their cancer for 5 years or more after they are diagnosed.
Stage 4 cancer may have spread into tissue outside the larynx such as the thyroid or food pipe. It may have spread to lymph nodes which are further away and larger in size. And it may have spread to other parts of the body.
Cancer survival by stage at diagnosis for England, 2019
Office for National Statistics
These 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.
The statistics for stage 4 laryngeal cancer survival don’t take into account the age of the people with stage 4 cancer. Statistics that do take into account the age (age-standardised statistics) are not available.
Without age standardisation, the survival differences between the 4 stage groups can be influenced by the age of the people in each stage group, in addition to their disease progression or treatment.
We should not use these non age-standardised figures to compare survival with other groups, such as different cancer types, stages, or populations from other countries.
Survival for all stages
There are only statistics available for men. This is because so few women are diagnosed with cancer of the larynx.
Generally for men with cancer of the larynx in England:
- almost 85 out of every 100 (almost 85%) will survive their cancer for 1 year or more
- around 65 out of every 100 (around 65%) will survive their cancer for 5 years or more
- more than 45 out of every 100 (more than 45%) will 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 with cancer of the larynx in England between 2016 and 2020.
10 year survival statistics
Cancer Survival in England: adults diagnosed between 2013 and 2017 and followed up to 2018
Office for National Statistics
These 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 big it is and whether it has spread.
The type of cancer and grade of the cancer cells can also affect your likely survival. Grade means how abnormal the cells look under the microscope.
The location of the cancer in the larynx also affects survival.
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.
Also, if you carry on smoking after your cancer, this affects your likely survival. And there is a higher risk that you will get a second cancer.
More statistics
For more in-depth information about survival and laryngeal cancer, go to our Cancer Statistics section.
