The survival rate of people with cancer in the Netherlands has risen in the last 20 years to an “encouraging degree”, cancer centre IKNL has said.

The chances of survival three years after the initial diagnosis rose 11 percentage points, from 60% between 2000 and 2004 to 71% between 2020 and 2022. Some 68% of cancer patients are still alive after five years, the figures show.

Dozens of new medicines, mass screening for early diagnosis, better diagnostics and techniques have all played a role in boosting life expectancy, particularly for cancers of the lung, kidney, esophagus, throat and sarcomas, the IKNL said.

Not all cancers can be treated successfully, the centre said. The survival rate for people with a diagnosis of cancer of the stomach, pancreas and liver is still low. Just 10% of people with pancreatic cancer live longer than three years after being diagnosed.

The IKNL said research and the development of new life-sustaining treatments remain “crucial” but any new treatment must be evaluated on its merits.

“Sometimes the side effects are so great the patient’s quality of life in the final phase will be badly affected,” the organisation said. “Apart from focusing on the treatment of the disease we must also look at quality of life.”