OTTAWA — Canadians diagnosed with cancer are living longer and the survival rate for sufferers of a number of cancers, including leukemia, has increased dramatically, a Statistics Canada report released Wednesday showed.

After looking at the five-year relative survival ratio for patients, the federal agency reported the survival rate for Canadians diagnosed with any type of cancer between 2004 and 2006 was 62 per cent, a six per cent increase from data from 1992 to 1994.

“It’s particularly encouraging to see that there’s been an increase in survival for several types of cancer like leukemia, thyroid, liver and non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Those types of cancers have low survival rates traditionally,” said Prithwish De, an epidemiologist with the Canadian Cancer Society.

He said advancements in cancer treatment and improvements with early detection are “two major factors that really made a difference in fighting cancer in Canada.”

The report suggested that compared with people without cancer, “those diagnosed with cancer are predicted to have about three-fifths the probability of surviving the next five years.”

The five-year relative survival ratios for those diagnosed between 2004 and 2006 ranged from six per cent for pancreatic cancer; 88 per cent for breast cancer; 89 per cent for skin melanoma; and 98 per cent for thyroid cancer.

Low increases were recorded in esophagus cancer, which only had a 13 per cent survival rate and lung cancer, which had a 16 per cent chance of survival.

The 10-year relative survival ratio for all the cancers studied was 58 per cent.

After compiling data from 1992 to 1994 and 2004 to 2006, the agency said leukemia patients saw an increased survival rate: to 54 per cent from 44 per cent and for those with non-Hodgkin lymphoma, survival rose to 63 per cent from 51 per cent.

For cancers with a poor long-term prognosis, the probability of dying was highest in the time immediately after diagnosis, the report said.

It also suggested younger patients had a much greater chance of survival. For example, the five-year relative survival rate for brain cancer was 58 per cent for Canadians between 15 and 44 years old compared to only nine per cent for those between 65 and 74.

But De also conceded the country’s medical experts still have a lot of research to do as the increase in the number of cancer diagnoses continues to climb due to an aging and growing population. Some forms of cancer receive less research in treatment and patient care, such as lung cancer, and despite investigation incidence, rates still climb. The survival rate for lung cancer, although it has increased, has not increased significantly and incidence rates for this cancer have continued to rise for women.

“This tells us there still needs to be a lot of work done in improving cancer survival rate in men and women. There’s lots of room for improvement,” he said.

An estimated 173,800 cases of cancer will be detected and 76,200 deaths will occur in Canada in 2010, according to the CCS, which says lung cancer accounts for over a quarter of all cancer deaths in Canada each year.