When is cancer considered cured, versus in remission?

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Experts explain the difference between what it means to experience cancer remission versus being cured of the disease.

A female patient is shown sat up in a hospital bed smiling at a nurse who has their hand placed on theirs. The patient is wearing a head scarf.
There are several important distinctions between cancer being in remission and cancer being cured. (Image credit: FatCamera via Getty Images)

After a patient has undergone treatment for cancer, they may be told that the disease is either in "remission" or that they have been "cured." But there's a distinction between these terms.

So what does it mean for cancer to be in remission, and what does it mean to have been cured?

If a patient remains in complete remission for five years or more, then some doctors may say the patient is "cured," which means they've shown a long-term absence of symptoms or signs of cancer.

However, even if a patient is considered cured, they may still have undetected cancer cells lurking in their body that may cause a recurrence of the disease one day. Doctors may be more likely to say that a patient is "cured" if they have a type of cancer that has a high five-year cancer survival rate when detected early, such as breast cancer or melanoma, which is a type of skin cancer.

An illustration of five cancer cells (in pink) against a black background. One cancer cells is in the foreground of the image so appears larger, while the other four are behind and therefore appear smaller.

Remission from cancer may last weeks or years, but there's still a risk that the disease may reoccur. (Image credit: KATERYNA KON/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY via Getty Images)

Epidemiologists may also use a term known as "statistical cure" in this context. This means that a patient survives long enough that their risk of death from cancer returns to that of the general public, Dr. Vijay Trisal, a surgical oncologist at the City of Hope cancer research center in California, told Live Science.

For instance, if someone had colon cancer 10 years ago and now they are free of the cancer, their risk of dying from the disease has effectively gone back to the baseline risk that would be expected of other people their age, he added.

Nevertheless, the term "cure" should be used with caution, Trisal said. Although it may alleviate some patients' anxiety and allow them to resume their normal lives, it can make others less vigilant and more likely to avoid future tests and screening that could help detect reoccurrence, he added.

Disclaimer

This article is for informational purposes only and is not meant to offer medical advice.

Emily Cooke
Emily Cooke
Staff Writer

Emily is a health news writer based in London, United Kingdom. She holds a bachelor's degree in biology from Durham University and a master's degree in clinical and therapeutic neuroscience from Oxford University. She has worked in science communication, medical writing and as a local news reporter while undertaking NCTJ journalism training with News Associates. In 2018, she was named one of MHP Communications' 30 journalists to watch under 30.

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