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PANCREATIC CANCER
Research News

Chronic Pancreatitis and the Link to Pancreatic Cancer

Smoking cessation would substantially reduce the future incidence of pancreatic cancer (EU Study)

How common is pancreatic cancer?

  In 1999, it is estimated that 28,600 people will get pancreatic cancer, with the cases evenly divided between men and women. Because of the high mortality of the disease, 28,600 people are expected to die from the disease in 1999 (Note: Not all of the deaths are associated with cancers newly diagnosed in 1999)

What are the odds of living with pancreatic cancer?

  Cancer of the pancreas is rarely curable. It is the fifth leading cause of cancer death in the United States. The highest survival rate occurs if the tumor is truly localized to the pancreas. Unfortunately, this stage of disease accounts for fewer than 20 percent of cases and results in approximately a 20 percent five-year survival rate in patients with completely resected tumors.

  The five-year survival rate for all patients with pancreatic cancer is only four percent. For patients with advanced cancers, the overall survival rate is less than one percent at five years with most patients dying within one year. Patients with any stage of pancreatic cancer can appropriately be considered candidates for clinical trials because of the poor response to chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and surgery. However, palliation of symptoms may be achieved with conventional treatment.