ABSTRACT
In order to discuss the prognosis (likely future outcome) of patients suffering from cancer it is important to understand how the estimation of prognosis in this disease differs from that of many other illnesses. In certain medical conditions which relentlessly progress, prognosis is estimated as the period of time the patient is likely to survive. This can usually be determined with a reasonable accuracy by knowing the speed at which the disease is progressing and therefore the number of years the patient can be expected to remain alive. Such an approach is frequently not applicable in patients suffering from cancer. Here prognosis is expressed in terms of the chance that the disease will or will not recur within a given period of time. If the disease does recur within a given period (usually five years) the patient is usually considered not to be likely to survive. If the patient has survived five years or more, in many types of cancer they are considered likely to be cured.
