The chance of surviving prostate cancer is quite good for most people. Most people diagnosed with prostate cancer have early-stage disease and many are cured. Even when the cancer can't be cured, treatments often can slow its growth and extend your life.
Survival statistics
Prostate cancer survival rates come from studying many people with prostate cancer to see how many are living five or 10 years after their diagnosis. Survival rates are given as percentages. If the survival rate is 41% at five years, that means that for every 100 people in that group, studies estimate that 41 will be living five years after diagnosis. It also means that studies estimate that 59 will die from their cancer within five years of diagnosis.
Many people wonder about survival rates by numbered stages, such as 1 to 4. But the U.S. National Cancer Institute (NCI), which tracks cancer survival rates in the United States, reports the rates by how far the cancer has spread.
The categories for NCI survival rates are:
- Localized, which means the cancer is only in the prostate.
- Regional, which means the cancer has grown beyond the prostate but hasn't spread to other parts of the body. It includes cancer that spreads to nearby lymph nodes.
- Distant, which means the cancer has spread to other parts of the body.
Survival rates for people with localized prostate cancer
| Age group |
5-year survival rate |
10-year survival rate |
| Under age 50 |
100% |
100% |
| Ages 50 to 64 |
100% |
100% |
| Age 65 and older |
100% |
100% |
Survival rates for people with regional prostate cancer
| Age group |
5-year survival rate |
10-year survival rate |
| Under age 50 |
96% |
95% |
| Ages 50 to 64 |
99% |
98% |
| Age 65 and older |
100% |
99% |
Survival rates for people with distant prostate cancer
| Age group |
5-year survival rate |
10-year survival rate |
| Under age 50 |
41% |
13% |
| Ages 50 to 64 |
47% |
20% |
| Age 65 and older |
36% |
15% |
Keep in mind that cancer survival rate statistics take five or 10 years to collect. The most recent survival rates include people who were diagnosed with prostate cancer five or 10 years ago. These people may not have had access to the latest treatments. Over the last few decades, prostate cancer death rates have been falling and survival rates have been increasing.
What you can do
There's no sure way to prevent prostate cancer from coming back. Some studies show that healthy lifestyle choices are linked to a lower risk of this happening. You may try these approaches if you're concerned about prostate cancer recurrence. These approaches also can help reduce the risk of other conditions, such as heart disease, which is common in people with prostate cancer.
Get regular exercise. Studies of physical activity in people with prostate cancer show that those who exercise the most have the lowest risk of dying of the disease. Exercise also helps lower your risk of heart disease.
Healthcare professionals generally recommend:
- Aerobic activity. Get at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity a week. Or get at least 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity a week. You also can get an equal mix of the two types. Aim to exercise most days of the week. For even more health benefits, get 300 minutes a week or more of moderate aerobic activity.
- Strength training. Do strength training exercises for all major muscle groups at least two times a week.
If you haven't been exercising regularly, get the OK from your healthcare professional before you start. Start slowly and gradually add more exercise as you go.
Eat a healthy diet. Research supports the idea that a generally healthy diet full of fruits, vegetables and whole grains is linked to improved survival after prostate cancer treatment. There's little evidence that certain foods or vitamins provide benefit.
Healthcare professionals generally recommend:
- Choosing healthy foods. Choose healthy foods such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes and nuts. Other healthy foods include poultry, fish, low-fat dairy products and eggs.
- Limiting other foods. Limit the amount of red meat, processed foods and foods with added sugar.
Don't use tobacco. People who smoke tobacco have a higher risk of prostate cancer recurrence compared with those who have never smoked. It's not clear whether quitting after treatment helps lower the risk. But quitting tobacco has many other health benefits. It may lower your risk of developing another type of cancer. And quitting is good for your heart.
Avoid all forms of tobacco. If you use tobacco, talk with your healthcare professional about ways to quit.
Prognosis
Survival rates can give you a general idea of the outlook for someone in your situation, but they can't tell your future. If you want to know about your personal prognosis, talk about it with your healthcare team.
The cancer prognosis tells you how likely it is that the cancer can be cured. Your personal prognosis may depend on:
- Grade group. The grade group is based on the Gleason score. The groups go from 1 to 5, with a low number meaning the cancer is likely to grow slowly. A higher grade group gives a worse prognosis.
- Prostate biopsy results. A prostate biopsy involves removing several tissue samples from the prostate for testing. If fewer than half of the samples contain cancer, this gives a better prognosis.
- PSA test results. A lower level of prostate specific antigen (PSA) in the blood gives a better prognosis.
- The cancer's stage. A larger cancer, cancer that grows beyond the prostate and cancer that spreads all make the stage higher and worsen the prognosis.
- Your overall health. Being generally healthy may make the prognosis better. Having other serious health conditions may limit your treatment options and worsen the prognosis.
Some people wonder what their symptoms might say about their prognosis. Symptoms can give clues about the size and stage of the cancer. For example, bone pain is a symptom of cancer that has spread to the bones, which has a poorer prognosis than cancer that's only in the prostate. But symptoms themselves don't influence prognosis. Many people with prostate cancer don't have symptoms.
Talk with your healthcare team about your prognosis if you want to know what to expect. Your healthcare team can explain what they consider when thinking about your prognosis.
Feb. 20, 2026