BACKGROUND: Pancreatic cancer is the 4th and 5th leading cause of cancer death in the US and the European Union, respectively. Overall 5-year survival is 5% and median survival is about 6 months for metastatic disease.
OBJECTIVES: Compile epidemiological data on metastatic pancreatic cancer and describe incidence, prevalence, and survival in the US, Germany, France, UK, Spain, and Italy.
METHODS: We conducted an electronic literature search to identify published population-based epidemiological studies. We also compiled epidemiological data from 4 population- based registries: US SEER, the European Cancer Observatory (ECO), the European Cancer Registry (EUROCARE), and the Scottish Cancer Registry (SCR).
RESULTS: Age-adjusted incidence of pancreatic cancer in the US was 9.1 per 100,000 for all stages and 4.8 per 100,000 for metastatic disease as reported by SEER. Ageadjusted incidence rates for all stages in Europe ranged from 8 to 10.6 per 100,000 in Spain and Germany, respectively, as reported by ECO. Ten-year limited duration prevalence in SEER was 2.2 per 100,000 for cancers classified as metastatic at diagnosis. Prevalence rate of pancreatic cancer in Scotland at end of 2007 was 8.3 per 100,000 based on diagnoses for all stages made in the previous 20 years (SCR). Percentage of patients presenting with metastatic disease at diagnosis in the US ranged from 33.4% to 54%, although the fraction with unknown stage was as high as 34.1%. US SEER data for metastatic disease report 1-, 2-. and 5-year survival rates of 11.2%, 3.0%, and 0.7%, respectively. A Spanish study reported 1-, 2-, and 5-year survival rates of 17%, 4.2%, and 0.6%, respectively, for all stages. According to EUROCARE data for all stages, 1-year survival ranged from 10.7% in Northern Ireland to 22.8% in France, and 5-year survival ranged from 2.1% in Northern Ireland to 5.8% in France.
CONCLUSION: Survival data for metastatic pancreatic cancer are available in the literature, but incidence or prevalence rates are not. The SEER registry reports incidence, prevalence, and survival for patients with metastases at time of diagnosis. European registries report epidemiological data without breakdown by disease stage.
