New 2026 ACS Data Show Cancer Survival Rates Hit a Historic 70%

In the mid-1970s, a cancer diagnosis was essentially a coin toss, with a 5-year survival rate hovering at a grim 49%. Fast-forward to today, and that coin is now heavily weighted in favor of the patient. According to the American Cancer Society (ACS) report, Cancer Statistics, 2026, the medical community has reached a historic milestone: The 5-year relative survival rate for all cancers combined has officially hit 70%.

Driven by research, the survival rate is fueled by a dual engine of progress: the precision of early detection and a new generation of targeted therapies and immunotherapies that are both effective and manageable. For many, a disease that once felt like a definitive period at the end of a sentence has been transformed into a comma.

Core Statistics

The 70% 5-year relative survival rate, alongside declining mortality rates and stabilized incidence for certain cancer types, serves as a primary indicator of progress. These improvements can be attributed to earlier disease detection through improved cancer screenings and advancements in treatment.

“When you see a doubling in the survival rate for myeloma...and you see an increase in survival, doubling of the [survival rate for] regional-stage lung cancer...then you know those improvements are real, and they're because of better treatments,” said Rebecca Siegel, MPH, a cancer epidemiologist and the senior scientific director of surveillance research at the ACS as well as the lead author of this year’s ACS report.

Specifically, the advent of targeted therapies with more favorable toxicity profiles has contributed to the improvement in survival rates.

“Now we have 70% of people who are diagnosed reaching that milestone 5-year mark....It’s really been driven by progress over the past 30 years, particularly in terms of more targeted treatment and immunotherapies,” Siegel said. “Not only are those therapies working extremely well, but they're less toxic, so people are able to stay on their cancer treatment longer and thus live longer.”

Survivorship

Longer survival necessitates a new paradigm of survivorship. With about 20 million cancer survivors in the US,² the context of survivorship has evolved from focusing solely on patients who are cured to include a population living long term with advanced disease.

“Because we expect, overwhelmingly, most people to survive, we really have to start thinking about...how we can give the best quality of life,” said Marleen Meyers, MD, a breast medical oncologist, a clinical professor in the Department of Medicine at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, and director of the Perlmutter Cancer Center Survivorship Program at NYU Langone Health in New York, New York.

Because most cancer survivors are older than 65 years, this population faces the compounded challenges of cancer-related adverse effects and age-related comorbidities.¹ At the same time, rising cancer rates in younger patients are driving concerns about long-term adverse effects, such as infertility.

“Now people, when they think of the future, of living sometimes 20, 30, 40, 50 years with the [adverse] effects, it’s no longer OK to say you’re going to be infertile or you’re going to have neuropathy,” Meyers noted.

Although survivorship is a physical journey of managing disease and treatment effects, it is also a profoundly psychological one.

“How do you live with knowing that you still have cancer and that you’re still being treated for cancer?” asked Meyers. “How do you live your life knowing you have metastatic cancer, but there is no imminent change in your quality of life?”

Cancer Disparities

Although this year’s report highlighted many positives, it also illuminated persistent disparities, especially for patients who are American Indian or Alaska Native (AIAN).

“[AIAN individuals] have the highest cancer mortality rates, and they also have the least favorable trends,” Siegel said.

Cigarette smoking contributes to an estimated 19% of new cancer cases, and tobacco use is notably higher in the AIAN population as well as among individuals who identify as LGBTQ+, with low socioeconomic status, and who report serious psychological distress.

Although lung cancer incidence is declining for most demographic groups, rates remain stable for AIAN women, who have the highest smoking rate of any female group in the US. Siegel points to tobacco companies aggressively targeting tribal reservations with advertising. Additionally, systemic factors have shaped these mortality rates.

“In the historic literature that you read...because of the history between tribes and the United States, there has been a relationship that hasn't always been the best to start out with,” said Rodney Haring, PhD, MSW, codirector of the Health Communications Shared Resource for Seneca Nation and chair of the Department of Indigenous Cancer Health at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center in Buffalo, New York.

Haring and Siegel both point to a chronic underfunding of the Indian Health Service, limiting access to screening and treatment resources for the AIAN population.

“Learning more about treaty responsibility between tribes and what that means for health care, health initiatives, and research—that’s really important to understand,” Haring said.

“Some studies show that with equal access to care...if you have equal care, you have equal outcomes,” Siegel said.

Prevention and Detection

Although cancer prevention and early detection have improved greatly over the years, the fight is far from over. For Haring, it’s important for clinicians to be aware of the disparities and differences that may affect their patients.

“It’s really important to know the Native nations in your region....Native Americans [face specific cancer risks] that may [differ from] other people in the same region,” Haring noted.

For Siegel, tackling preventable cancers is a prime concern.

“Forty-four percent of the [2.1 million] cancer diagnoses…we're expecting this year are potentially preventable by not smoking, being physically active, maintaining a healthy body weight, [and] eating a healthy diet,” Siegel said.

Meyers echoed the importance of exercise for the general population.

“There’s absolutely nothing that one can say that’s bad about exercise. It is probably the single most important thing that a person can do to feel better and also to decrease the risk of some cancer occurrences,” she said.

Haring emphasizes that for all, cancer prevention and general health require a holistic view.

“How do we integrate our thoughts and our cultural [heritage] into [a lifestyle of holistic prevention? It’s about] taking care of cancer from the forefront, not just [by fighting] cancer, but [by nurturing healthy individuals] and healthy communities,” he said.

The Future of Research

The progress seen in cancer survival rates is “the culmination, without a doubt, of decades of cancer research because it takes a very long time to unravel the mechanisms behind how cancer grows and spreads,” Siegel said. However, progress threatens to slow. “In this time that we're in right now, a lot of research in general is under threat of funding cuts. That's a concern.”

Meyers sees the future of cancer care continuing to become more interdisciplinary, especially as cancer survivors live longer and their needs evolve. She urges oncologists to have specialists such as gynecologists specializing in menopause or reproductive endocrinologists “on speed dial” to be able to quickly and effectively address the various needs of patients beyond their immediate cancer treatment.

She also sees a continuation of research into lifestyle modifications to prevent and help manage cancer.

“We’re going to see a lot more research in that field—[into] nutrition, exercise, [and] alcohol—that’s going to really be very informative,” she said.

Haring’s goal is to encourage young AIAN individuals to pursue and help shape cancer science.

“There are pathways for bringing up the youth and students to be the next generation of indigenous cancer scientists…and having input into research designs and clinical trials,” he said.

REFERENCES

1. Siegel RL, Kratzer TB, Wagle NS, Sung H, Jemal A. Cancer statistics, 2026. CA Cancer J Clin. 2026;76(1):e70043. doi:10.3322/caac.70043

2. Cancer treatment and survivorship facts & figures. American Cancer Society. Accessed February 13, 2026. https://tinyurl.com/ywz7x9tr