Prognosis and Survival Rates for Bladder Cancer (2024)

Bladder cancer can often be cured, or brought into remission, especially if treated early. However, bladder cancer tends to reappear. Overall, the chances of your cancer being cured depend on your type of cancer and how far it has spread.1

Low grade and high grade bladder cancer

Bladder cancer starts in the lining of the bladder in about 90 percent of people diagnosed with this cancer. Bladder cancer is called low grade or high grade.

  • Low-grade bladder cancer means the cancer has not invaded the muscles around the bladder (non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer). People rarely die from this type of bladder cancer, it often recurs after treatment.
  • High-grade bladder cancer also often recurs and has a higher chance of spreading to other parts of the body. Almost all deaths from bladder cancer result this type so it is treated more aggressively.

Understanding the statistics: cancer survival

It is important to remember that all cancer survival numbers are based on averages across huge numbers of people. These numbers cannot predict what will happen in your individual case.

Survival rates will not tell you how long you will live after you have been diagnosed with bladder cancer. But, these numbers can give you an idea of how likely your treatment will be successful. Also, survival rates take into account your age at diagnosis but not whether you have other health conditions too.

Treatments are improving

Remember, treatments for bladder cancer improve every year. Statistics about 10-year survival, for example, are based on people who were diagnosed and treated for bladder cancer 10 years ago. The treatment options available to those people may not be the same as the treatment options that you have today.

High average 5-year survival rate

The National Cancer Institute estimates the average 5-year survival rate for anyone who has bladder cancer, of any stage, to be 77 percent. This means that 3 out of 4 people diagnosed with bladder cancer will still alive after 5 years.3

Bladder cancer stages and survival rates

Cancer survival rates are also categorized according to the stage of the cancer when it was diagnosed. The stage of cancer generally refers to how far it has progressed, and whether it has spread to other parts of the body. For bladder cancer, the 5-year survival rate for people with:2,3

  • Bladder cancer in situ (in originating cells only) is around 96 percent
  • Localized bladder cancer (sometimes called “Stage 1”) is around 70 percent
  • Bladder cancer that has spread to the regional lymph nodes is 35 percent
  • Distant or metastasized bladder cancer is 5 percent (sometimes called "Stage 4")

If you would like to learn more about bladder cancer statistics, consider speaking with someone on your health care team. They will be able to explain more about how these statistics apply to your cancer. Tell us about your experience in the comments below, or share your story with the community.

Prognosis and Survival Rates for Bladder Cancer (1)

Prognosis and Survival Rates for Bladder Cancer (2024)

FAQs

What is the overall survival rate of bladder cancer? ›

The 5-year relative survival rate of people with bladder cancer that has not spread beyond the inner layer of the bladder wall is 96%. Almost half of people are diagnosed with this stage. If the tumor is invasive but has not yet spread outside the bladder, the 5-year relative survival rate is 70%.

Can you fully recover from bladder cancer? ›

Non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer can often be cured. For muscle-invasive bladder cancer, prognosis also depends on whether carcinoma in situ is also present.

What is the most important prognostic factor for bladder cancer? ›

Stage and grade are the most important prognostic factors for disease progression and disease-specific survival; patient age and grade (WHO 1973) are the most important prognostic factors for OS (see Section 6.1. 1.4). www.nmibc.net.

Has anyone survived stage 4 bladder cancer? ›

If bladder cancer has spread to the regional lymph nodes, the 5-year survival rate is 39.2%. If it has spread to a distant site, the 5-year survival rate is 8.3%. Receiving a diagnosis of stage 4 bladder cancer can feel overwhelming.

What is the survival rate for bladder cancer by age? ›

The incidence rate among people under 40 is 0.5 cases per 100,000 people, and among people 40-64 is 12 per 100,000, according to SEER. Data published by SEER also reveals the five-year survival rate for bladder cancer patients between the ages of 40 and 64 is 82.5%.

What is the quality of life with bladder cancer? ›

Discussion. In this review, the QOL among patients was estimated at 53.92 (95% CI: 47.84 to 60). We also found that physical domains of QOL were significantly affected by diagnosis or treatment procedures of the disease and were worse in terms of role limitations due to physical health and social functioning.

What are the odds of beating bladder cancer? ›

If the cancer is just on the inner lining of the bladder (stage 0 or carcinoma in situ), the 5-year survival rate is about 98%. If the cancer is growing just beyond the inner lining into the bladder wall, but is still just in the bladder (Stage I), the 5-year survival rate is about 88%.

How fast does bladder cancer spread without treatment? ›

Fortunately, the majority of bladder cancers do not grow rapidly and can be treated without major surgery. Thus, most patients with bladder cancer are not at risk of developing a cancer that will spread and become life threatening.

Where is the first place bladder cancer spreads? ›

Where can bladder cancer spread to? Not all bladder cancers will spread. But If it does it's most likely to spread to the structures close to the bladder, such as the ureters, urethra, prostate, vagin*, or into the pelvis. This is called local spread.

What is the number one prevention strategy for bladder cancer? ›

Follow these bladder cancer prevention tips: Stop smoking. Eat a healthy diet that includes plenty of vegetables and fruits. Avoid or limit workplace chemicals.

What is the most common pathology for bladder cancer? ›

Urothelial carcinoma, also known as transitional cell carcinoma (TCC), is by far the most common type of bladder cancer. In fact, if you have bladder cancer it's almost always a urothelial carcinoma. These cancers start in the urothelial cells that line the inside of the bladder.

What is the single most important prognostic factor in ALL? ›

While all of the following are prognostic factors, only certain ones are used to determine which risk group a child is in. (The first 2 factors – age at diagnosis and initial white blood cell count – are thought to be the most important.)

Is bladder cancer usually fatal? ›

Survival for all stages of bladder cancer

more than 50 out of every 100 (more than 50%) survive their cancer for 5 years or more after they are diagnosed. around 45 out of every 100 (around 45%) survive their cancer for 10 years or more after diagnosis.

What causes death with bladder cancer? ›

But researchers also noted that people with bladder cancer had a higher risk of dying from secondary cancers, heart diseases, and COPD than the people who never had bladder cancer. It should be noted that heart disease and COPD are both smoking-related diseases, as is bladder cancer.

What hurts when you have bladder cancer? ›

Pain in flank, the section of the back between the ribs and the hip bone. Painful urination. Frequent urination. Urinary hesitancy, or difficulty beginning to urinate.

Is bladder cancer very aggressive? ›

Bladder cancers are either low-grade or high-grade. Low-grade bladder cancer cells grow more slowly and are less likely to invade the bladder's muscular wall. High-grade bladder cancer cells grow aggressively and may be more likely to spread to the bladder wall and other tissues and organs.

What organ does bladder cancer spread to first? ›

Bladder cancer is most likely to spread to the structures close to the bladder, such as the ureters, urethra, prostate, vagin*, or into the pelvis. This is called local spread or locally advanced cancer.

How quickly does bladder cancer spread? ›

It typically doesn't spread very quickly. However, other types of bladder cancer, such as adenocarcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, and small cell carcinoma, spread much faster. In most cases, treatment, if started early enough, can prevent the spread of bladder cancer.

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