Pancreatic Cancer Statistics
WARNING: It has been our experience that many patients and family members want to know the hard numbers. And chances are, if you've clicked through to this page, that is what you are looking for. But to be clear, this is a tough disease. Please only proceed through this page if you are determined to know the hard numbers.
THE HARD NEWS:
The American Cancer Society’s estimates for pancreatic cancer in the United States for 2019 are:
>90% of patients who have received a diagnosis of pancreatic cancer die from the disease. (3)
~80% of patients are found to have advanced disease at the time of diagnosis, meaning the cancer has spread to nearby lymph nodes, tissues, organs, or it has spread to distant parts of the body. (5) (6)
Approximately 60 to 70% of pancreatic cancers are located in the head of the pancreas, and 20 to 25% are located in the body and tail of the pancreas. (4)
THE HOPE:
- Overall survival (5-year survival) has more than doubled since 2002: 4%, 2019: 9%. (9)
- Funding has increased 4-fold between 2003-2013 $21 million to $86 million. (7)
- Five-year survival rate for patients whose tumors were less than two centimeters and removed by surgery is more than 40 percent (8)
1.https://www.cancer.org/cancer/pancreatic-cancer/about/key-statistics.html
2. https://seer.cancer.gov/statfacts/html/pancreas.html
3. Iacobuzio-Donahue CA, Fu B, Yachida S, et al. DPC4 Gene Status of the Primary Carcinoma Correlates With Patterns of Failure in Patients With Pancreatic Cancer. Journal of Clinical Oncology. 2009;27(11):1806-1813. doi:10.1200/JCO.2008.17.7188.
4. David P. Ryan, M.D., Theodore S. Hong, M.D., and Nabeel Bardeesy, Ph.D. Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma. The New England Journal of Medicine. 2014;371:1039-49. doi:10.1056/NEJMra1404198
5. Siegel, R. L., Miller, K. D. and Jemal, A. (2018), Cancer statistics, 2018. CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, 68: 7-30. doi:10.3322/caac.21442
6. “Cancer Staging was originally published by the National Cancer Institute.” https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/diagnosis-staging/staging
7. Hendifar, Andrew E.Davies, LynneTuli, Richard et al. (2017). Private Funding for Pancreatic Cancer Research: More Than a Chip Shot. Gastroenterology, Volume 152 , Issue 5 , 918 - 921.e2
8. Kamarajah, S.K., Burns, W.R., Frankel, T.L. et al. Ann Surg Oncol (2017) 24: 2023. https://doi.org/10.1245/s10434-017-5810-xkamarajah2017_article_validationoftheamericanjointco.pdf
9. Siegel, R. L., Miller, K. D. and Jemal, A. (2019), Cancer statistics, 2019.
THE HARD NEWS:
The American Cancer Society’s estimates for pancreatic cancer in the United States for 2019 are:
- About 56,770 people (29,940 men and 26,830 women) will be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.(1)
- About 45,750 people (23,800 men and 21,950 women) will die of pancreatic cancer. (1)
- Pancreatic cancer accounts for about 3% of all cancers in the US and about 7% of all cancer deaths. (1) (2)
- The 5-year survival rate for people with pancreatic cancer is 9%. (9)
>90% of patients who have received a diagnosis of pancreatic cancer die from the disease. (3)
~80% of patients are found to have advanced disease at the time of diagnosis, meaning the cancer has spread to nearby lymph nodes, tissues, organs, or it has spread to distant parts of the body. (5) (6)
Approximately 60 to 70% of pancreatic cancers are located in the head of the pancreas, and 20 to 25% are located in the body and tail of the pancreas. (4)
THE HOPE:
- Overall survival (5-year survival) has more than doubled since 2002: 4%, 2019: 9%. (9)
- Funding has increased 4-fold between 2003-2013 $21 million to $86 million. (7)
- Five-year survival rate for patients whose tumors were less than two centimeters and removed by surgery is more than 40 percent (8)
1.https://www.cancer.org/cancer/pancreatic-cancer/about/key-statistics.html
2. https://seer.cancer.gov/statfacts/html/pancreas.html
3. Iacobuzio-Donahue CA, Fu B, Yachida S, et al. DPC4 Gene Status of the Primary Carcinoma Correlates With Patterns of Failure in Patients With Pancreatic Cancer. Journal of Clinical Oncology. 2009;27(11):1806-1813. doi:10.1200/JCO.2008.17.7188.
4. David P. Ryan, M.D., Theodore S. Hong, M.D., and Nabeel Bardeesy, Ph.D. Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma. The New England Journal of Medicine. 2014;371:1039-49. doi:10.1056/NEJMra1404198
5. Siegel, R. L., Miller, K. D. and Jemal, A. (2018), Cancer statistics, 2018. CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, 68: 7-30. doi:10.3322/caac.21442
6. “Cancer Staging was originally published by the National Cancer Institute.” https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/diagnosis-staging/staging
7. Hendifar, Andrew E.Davies, LynneTuli, Richard et al. (2017). Private Funding for Pancreatic Cancer Research: More Than a Chip Shot. Gastroenterology, Volume 152 , Issue 5 , 918 - 921.e2
8. Kamarajah, S.K., Burns, W.R., Frankel, T.L. et al. Ann Surg Oncol (2017) 24: 2023. https://doi.org/10.1245/s10434-017-5810-xkamarajah2017_article_validationoftheamericanjointco.pdf
9. Siegel, R. L., Miller, K. D. and Jemal, A. (2019), Cancer statistics, 2019.
