Eye cancer survival

Survival depends on many factors, so no one can tell you exactly how long you’ll live. It depends on your individual condition, type of cancer, treatment and level of fitness.

Statistics for eye cancer are 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 (prognosis).

You can also talk about this to the Cancer Research UK nurses on freephone 0808 800 4040, from 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday.

Survival for all stages and types of eye cancer

There are no UK-wide statistics available for different types and stages of eye cancer. The type of cancer refers to the type of cell that it starts in. The stage of eye cancer depends on how big the cancer is and if it has spread.

Eye cancer is rare and so the figures available are for all eye cancers in England.

Generally for people with eye cancer in England:

  • around 95 out of 100 (around 95%) survive their cancer for 1 year or more

  • 80 out of 100 (80%) survive their cancer for 5 years or more

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 can also affect your survival.

Sometimes doctors can test for changes in the chromosomes of an eye melanoma that give an idea about how the cancer will behave and how likely it is to spread.

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.

About these statistics

5 year survival doesn't mean you will only live for 5 years. It relates to the number of people who live 5 years or more after their diagnosis of cancer. Many people live much longer than 5 years.

Clinical trials

Taking part in clinical trials can help to improve treatments for eye cancer. We have detailed information about clinical trials on this website.

More statistics

For more in-depth information about survival and eye cancer, go to our Cancer Statistics section.

 

  • Cancer survival in England, cancers diagnosed 2016 to 2020, followed up to 2021
    NHS England

  • Uveal melanoma.
    V Papastefanou and V Cohen.
    Journal of Skin Cancer, 2011. Volume 2011, article 573974, pages 1 to 14

  • Cancer: Principles & Practice of Oncology (Cancer: Principles & Practice (10th Revised edition)
    VT DeVita (Ed) and TS Lawrence (Ed) 
    Lippincott, Williams and Wilkins, 2014

Last reviewed: 
02 Nov 2021
Next review due: 
02 Nov 2024

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