Rare cancer occurs in fewer than 15 out of 100,000 people every year.
Some of the characteristics of the rarest cancer are:
Rare cancer chart
The rarest types of cancer are presented in the table below.
| Types of rare cancer | Number of people affected every year | The area of the body affected | Symptoms | Is it treatable? | Survival rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hyalinizing clear cell carcinoma of minor salivary gland tumor | 51 cases |
|
|
Treatable with surgery | High survival rate |
| Heart cancer | Reported one to two patients per year | Heart |
|
Yes | The 5-year survival rate is 17 percent |
| Ewing’s sarcoma | 3 per 1 million people |
|
|
Yes | The 5-year survival rate for tumors that have not spread is about 70 percent and 30 percent for tumors that have spread to other locations |
| Thymic carcinoma | 400 cases per year | Thymus gland |
|
Yes | The 5-year survival rate is between 30 and 50 percent |
| Wilms’ tumor | 1 in 10,000 children each year (about 500 to 650 in the United States) | Kidneys |
|
Yes | High: The 5-year survival rate is about 90 percent |
| Merkel cell carcinoma | About 2000 cases in the United States each year | Skin cancer typically found on the face, head, or neck |
|
Yes | The 10-year survival rate of about 57 percent (about 71 percent if caught early) |
| Glioblastoma (a type of brain tumor) | 0.59 to 5 cases per 100,000 people | Found in the brain |
|
Yes | Low: People live less than a year after diagnosis |
| Hepatoblastoma | 50 to 75 new cases | Liver |
|
Yes | The five-year survival rate in children is 81.5 percent |
| Male breast cancer | About 2550 cases each year in the United States | Male breast tissue |
|
Yes | The five-year survival rate is 84 percent |
| Fibrosarcoma | 5 per 1 million | A type of soft tissue cancer that begins in fibrous tissue, which holds bones, muscles, and other organs in place |
|
Yes | The five-year survival rate is 40 to 60 percent |
SLIDESHOW
Skin Cancer Symptoms, Types, Images See SlideshowWhy is rare cancer challenging?
Rare cancer can be challenging for patients, doctors, and scientists due to the limited information available.
For patients
- The time taken to identify any symptoms and the time taken by the doctor to identify the type of cancer can be time-consuming.
- Because there is limited information available on the rarest cancer, it would be difficult to find doctors who are aware of cancer and its treatment.
- They might experience a dilemma if the doctors do not agree on how to treat cancer.
- There might be a need to travel away from home to a distant place to get appropriate treatment for cancer.
For doctors
- It would be difficult for them to explain to their patients the outcome of the disease and treatment modalities due to the limited information available.
- They may have a lack of experience or training to treat this type of cancer.
- Lack of availability of experts in rare cancer to whom they can ask their concerns or refer the patient.
For scientists
- Due to lack of information, they may not be sure about drugs that could help treat this type of cancer.
- Lack of animal or cell models of rare cancer to test their ideas.
- Insufficient tumor samples from rare cancer patients are available to move further in the research.
- Finding enough patients with rare cancers is difficult. They are extremely important to execute the ideas about the drugs that could probably treat rare cancer.
Medically Reviewed on 6/9/2022
References
Image Source: iStock image
American Cancer Society. Rare Cancers, Cancer Subtypes, and Pre-Cancers. https://www.cancer.org/cancer/rare-cancers.html#F-L
National Cancer Institute. Rare cancer. https://www.cancer.gov/publications/dictionaries/cancer-terms/def/rare-cancer
American Cancer Society. Rare Cancers, Cancer Subtypes, and Pre-Cancers. https://www.cancer.org/cancer/rare-cancers.html#F-L
National Cancer Institute. Rare cancer. https://www.cancer.gov/publications/dictionaries/cancer-terms/def/rare-cancer
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