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. 2022 Dec 21;17(12):e0279227. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0279227

Table 2. Estimated median (range) number of years for each cancer type to progress from one stage to the next.

Cancer type Stage I Stage II Stage III
Prostate 7 (5–8) 5 (4–6) 3 (2–5)
Thyroid 5.5 (4–8) 5 (3–7) 4 (2–5)
Kidney 5 (<1–7) 3 (<1–5) 2 (<1–2)
Uterus 4 (3–5) 3 (<1–5) 1.5 (<1–3)
Cervix 4 (<1–5) 2.5 (<1–4) <1 (<1–2)
Colon/rectum 3.5 (2–5) 3 (2–5) <1 (<1–2)
Sarcoma 3.5 (<1–6) 2 (<1–4) <1 (<1–2)
Breast 3 (2–4) 2 (<1–3) 1.5 (<1–2)
Melanoma 3 (<1–5) 2 (<1–4) <1 (<1–2)
Head and neck 3 (2–6) 2 (<1–4) <1 (<1–2)
Bladder 3 (2–5) 2 (<1–5) <1 (<1–2)
Ovary 3 (<1–3) 2 (<1–2) <1 (<1-<1)
Stomach 3 (2–5) 2 (<1–2) <1 (<1–2)
Urothelial tract 3 (2–7) 2 (2–5) <1 (<1–4)
Anus 3 (2–7) 2 (2–5) <1 (<1–3)
Esophagus 2.5 (2–5) <1 (<1–2) <1 (<1–2)
Lung 2 (2–3) <1 (<1–2) <1 (<1-<1)
Liver/intrahepatic bile duct 2 (<1–3) <1 (<1–2) <1 (<1-<1)
Gallbladder 2 (<1–3) <1 (<1-<1) <1 (<1-<1)
Pancreas <1 (<1–2) <1 (<1–2) <1 (<1-<1)

Experts were asked to rate how long cancers would take to progress from the beginning of one stage to the beginning of the next. Progression was rated on a scale of 1 (less than a year) to 9 (9 or more years).