4 ms·
The title says half of people survive advanced melanoma, but the article says 52% of patients live for 5 years. Are these medically the same?
by clircle 7y ago
The title says half of people survive advanced melanoma, but the article says 52% of patients live for 5 years. Are these medically the same?
- inetsee 7y ago5 Year survival rate is one of the standard measures for the effectiveness of a medical treatment.
- anovikov 7y agoThat's what always bugged me: after a 5-year survival, what is the typical probability of cancer ever returning? I.e. to what extent 5-year survival == "cure"?
- huherto 7y agoMuy guess is that you have 52% of surviving another 5 years. But as the xkcd lanes comic linked explains you are never really cured.
- _Microft 7y agoIf you want a display that imo really hits home for some reason, see xkcd "Lanes". The uncertainty that patients are going through in the years after a cancer diagnosis/treatment must be brutal. https://www.xkcd.com/931/ https://www.xkcd.com/931/
- robbiep 7y agoFor reference, 6 years ago when I left medical school the average survival for metastatic melanoma patients was 6 months.
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]