Survival statistics for pancreatic cancer

Survival statistics for cancer are very general estimates and must be interpreted very carefully. Because these statistics are based on the experience of groups of people, they cannot be used to predict a particular person's chances of survival.

There are many different ways to measure and report cancer survival statistics. Your doctor can explain these statistics and what they mean to you.

Net survival represents the probability (chance) of surviving cancer in the absence of other causes of death. It is used to give an estimate of the percentage of people who will survive cancer.

In Canada, the 5-year net survival for pancreatic cancer is 12%. This means that, on average, about 12% of people diagnosed with pancreatic cancer will live for at least 5 years.

Survival varies with each stage of pancreatic cancer. Generally, the earlier pancreatic cancer is diagnosed and treated, the better the outcome. Unfortunately, pancreatic cancer is often not found until it is at an advanced stage and has spread, which can make it harder to treat. There are few effective treatments available for pancreatic cancer, aside from surgery, which is often not possible for advanced stage tumours.

Survival by stage for pancreatic cancer is reported as 5-year relative survival. Relative survival looks at how likely people with cancer are to survive for at least 5 years after their diagnosis compared to people in the general population who do not have cancer but who share similar characteristics (such as age and sex).

Survival for pancreatic cancer can be grouped by whether the cancer is:

• localized – the cancer is only in the pancreas, such as carcinoma in situ (stage 0), stage 1 and some cases of stage 2
• regional – the cancer has spread to lymph nodes or structures outside but close to the pancreas, such as stage 2 and stage 3
• distant – the cancer has spread to structures far from the pancreas, such as stage 4

There are no specific Canadian statistics available for the different stages of pancreatic cancer. The following information comes from a variety of sources. It may include statistics from other countries that are likely to have similar outcomes as in Canada.

Talk to your doctor about your prognosis. A prognosis depends on many factors, including:

• your health history
• the type of cancer
• the stage
• certain aspects of the cancer, such as whether it can be surgically removed (called resectability)
• the treatments you have
• how the cancer responds to treatment

Only a doctor familiar with these factors can put all of this information together with survival statistics to arrive at a prognosis.