# What causes death in Stage I cancers? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 22, 2009, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-causes-death-in-stage-i-cancers/497310 "2009-05-22T17:15:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Diamonds02](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5a626/32.png) [@Diamonds02](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diamonds02)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2009, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-causes-death-in-stage-i-cancers/497310/1 "2009-05-22T17:15:00Z")
When I look at survival rates for many cancers, I notice that they usually list 90-95% chance for survival if it is treated at the first stage. What are the causes of death in the 5-10% of Stage I cancers? ---
**Author:** ![threemae](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5f9b8f/32.png) [@threemae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/threemae)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2009, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-causes-death-in-stage-i-cancers/497310/2 "2009-05-22T17:27:19Z")
I would need to see the thing your referencing to be sure, but there are two possible causes of these deaths. First, a given statistic may or may not address cause specific mortality. That is, on that table all deaths may, “count,” not only deaths directly related to cancer. Even for the age groups least likely to die, a certain portion of these people will be struck by buses or metiorites over the next five to ten years. For tables that address cause specific mortality, that is tables that only, “count,” cancer deaths, the inclusion as a Stage 1 cancer refers to the time-point at the beginning of the 5-10 year survival rate table. Of course, some or many of these cancers can advance to a more lethal stage. A very traditional model of fatal cancer describes the evolution from Stage 1 to ultimately Stage 3 or 4 cancers. Just because a given cancer case isn’t bad at the start of the 5-10 year time-phrase doesn’t mean that cancer won’t progress to a point where it threatens the survival of the person bearing the cancer. ---
**Author:** ![yorick73](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/b5a626/32.png) [@yorick73](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yorick73)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2009, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-causes-death-in-stage-i-cancers/497310/3 "2009-05-22T19:31:07Z")
Here’s a quick overview of cancer staging: > **[Cancer staging](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cancer_staging)** > > Cancer staging is the process of determining the extent to which a cancer has grown and spread. A number from I to IV is assigned, with I being an isolated cancer and IV being a cancer that has metastasized and spread from its origin. The stage generally takes into account the size of a tumor, whether it has invaded adjacent organs, how many regional (nearby) lymph nodes it has spread to (if any), and whether it has appeared in more distant locations (metastasized). > The staging system is not ap... Unless I misunderstood your reply, I think the OP is referring to the percentage that acually die with a stage 1 cancer, as opposed to being in the stage 1 window. I guess you are right that certain tables do not take into account the actual cause of death. My first thought is that the stage 1 cancer can grow in place and maybe do some life-threatening damage in that way. For instance, maybe a brain tumor is pressing against a major vessel in the brain. ---
**Author:** ![Hirundo82](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/919ad9/32.png) [@Hirundo82](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hirundo82)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2009, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-causes-death-in-stage-i-cancers/497310/4 "2009-05-23T00:30:04Z")
Very few people actually die from a stage I cancer. The 5-10% who don’t survive after being diagnosed and treated in the early stages of the disease are those who don’t respond to the treatment and their disease progresses, ultimately resulting in their death. ---
**Author:** ![chrisk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@chrisk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chrisk)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2009, 9:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-causes-death-in-stage-i-cancers/497310/5 "2009-05-23T09:41:22Z")
Just a random thought, possibly it also includes those who die of complications from treatment? Problems with the anaesthesia from a surgery where the tumor is taken out and so on?