Cancer survival in Qidong between 1972 and 2011: A population-based analysis.

Population-based cancer survival is an improved index for evaluating the overall efficiency of cancer health services in a given region. The current study analysed the observed survival and relative survival of leading cancer sites from a population-based cancer registry between 1972 and 2011 in Qidong, China. A total of 92,780 incident cases with cancer were registered and followed-up for survival status. The main sites of the cancer types, based on the rank order of incidence, were the liver, stomach, lung, colon and rectum, oesophagus, breast, pancreas, leukaemia, brain and central nervous system (B and CNS), bladder, blood [non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL)] and cervix. For all malignancies combined, the 5-year observed survival was 13.18% and the relative survival was 15.80%. Females had higher observed survival and relative survival (19.32 and 22.71%, respectively) compared with males (9.63 and 11.68%, respectively). The cancer sites with the highest five-year relative survival rates were the female breast, bladder, cervix and colon and rectum; followed by NHL, stomach, B and CNS cancer and leukaemia. The poorest survival rates were cancers of oesophagus, lung, pancreas and liver. Higher survival rates were observed in younger patients compared with older patients. Cancers of the oesophagus, female breast and bladder were associated with higher survival in middle-aged groups. Improved survival rates in the most recent two 5-year calendar periods were identified for stomach, lung, colon and rectum, oesophagus, female breast and bladder cancer, as well as leukaemia and NHL. The observations of the current study provide the opportunity for evaluation of the survival outcomes of frequent cancer sites that reflects the changes and improvement in a rural area in China.