Melanoma skin cancer
The statistics below are based on large groups of people. Remember, they can’t tell you what will happen in your individual case.
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 record 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.
There are no UK-wide statistics available for melanoma survival by stage.
Survival statistics are available for each stage of melanoma in England. These figures are for men and women diagnosed between 2013 and 2017.
Almost everyone (around 100%) with stage 1 melanoma skin cancer will survive their cancer for 5 years or more after they are diagnosed.
Around 85 in 100 people (around 85%) with stage 2 melanoma skin cancer will survive their cancer for 5 years or more after diagnosis.
Almost 75 in 100 people (almost 75%) with stage 3 melanoma skin cancer will survive their cancer for 5 years or more after they are diagnosed.
In recent years, researchers have developed new treatments for stage 4 melanoma. Some immunotherapy treatments have had very good results so far.
With new treatments, some people are living with stage 4 melanoma for a long time. And some of these people might be able to stop treatment and live for many years. Unfortunately, this is not the case for everyone, and some people do not survive as long.
Although NHS England provide survival statistics for stage 4 melanoma, these are not for people who have had these new treatments. To work out survival statistics, organisations need to follow a large number of people with stage 4 melanoma over a reasonable period of time. As the changes in treatment are recent, NHS England doesn’t have these statistics yet.
Statistics are available from a worldwide study of 945 people with advanced melanoma (stage 3 or 4). The researchers looked at their response and how long they survived after having one of the following immunotherapy drugs or combinations:
nivolumab (Opdivo)
ipilimumab (Yervoy)
nivolumab with ipilimumab
They followed the patients for 6 and a half years. The researchers also compared survival in people with changes (mutations) in the BRAF V600 gene (BRAF positive) to those without BRAF changes (BRAF negative or wildtype).
The following statistics are for people who had a combination of the immunotherapy drugs nivolumab and ipilimumab.
Read about testing melanoma for gene changes
More than 55 out of 100 people (more than 55%) survived for 6 and a half years or more.
Around 45 out of 100 people (around 45%) survived for 6 and a half years or more.
The UK survival statistics come from England and Wales. Scotland and Northern Ireland have a similar population and health care system. So we can apply these survival statistics to the whole of the UK.
Generally for adults with melanoma skin cancer in the UK:
almost 100 out of every 100 (almost 100%) survive their cancer for 1 year or more
around 95 out of every 100 (around 95%) survive their cancer for 5 years or more
almost 95 out of every 100 (almost 95%) survive their cancer for 10 years or more
Your outlook depends on the stage of the cancer when it was diagnosed. This means how deeply it has grown into the skin and whether it has spread. It also depends on the type of melanoma and where in your body it is.
It is also affected by:
the type of treatment you have
how well the treatment works
your general health and fitness
Survival is better for women than it is for men. We don't know exactly why this is. It may be because women are more likely to see a doctor about their melanoma at an earlier stage.
Age can also affect outlook and younger people have a better prognosis than older people.
For more in-depth information about survival and other statistics for melanoma, go to our Cancer Statistics section.
Last reviewed: 02 Jan 2025
Next review due: 02 Jan 2028
Melanoma skin cancer starts in skin cells called melanocytes. You can get it anywhere on your skin including in a mole, on your palms, the soles of your feet and under your nails.
The stage of a melanoma skin cancer tells you how deeply it has grown down into the skin. It also tells you if it has spread elsewhere in your body and how far.
Treatments include surgery, cancer drugs and sometimes radiotherapy. Which ones you have depends on the melanoma stage, where on your body it is and your general health.
Advanced melanoma skin cancer means the cancer has spread to another part of the body such as the liver, lungs or bone. Or it has come back after treatment.
Organisations, support groups and other resources are available to help you cope with melanoma skin cancer and its treatment.
Melanoma develops in cells called melanocytes. You have these in your skin and other parts of your body. Melanoma that starts in the skin is called melanoma skin cancer.
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