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what are the survival rates for pancreatic cancer?

Patients & families

In short

The overall 5-year survival rate for pancreatic cancer is 12% [1]. This number is mostly driven by patients diagnosed with early, localized disease, whose survival rate has risen to 46% [1]. For most patients, the survival rate remains low because they are usually diagnosed at a later stage [1].

The details

  • The overall 5-year survival rate for all pancreatic cancer patients is 12% [1].
  • This rate increased from 6% in 2004 to 12% in 2015 [1].
  • For patients with localized disease (cancer that has not spread), the 5-year survival rate rose from 24% to 46% between 2004 and 2015 [1].
  • Only about 14% of patients are diagnosed at this early, localized stage [1].
  • For patients with distant disease (cancer that has spread), the 5-year survival rate is very low, rising only from 2% to 3% during the same period [1].
  • Younger patients with early-onset pancreatic cancer may have better survival than older patients, but this finding needs more study [7].
  • What to know

    These statistics show that early detection is critical for better outcomes [1]. Most patients are diagnosed when the disease is already advanced or metastatic (spread to other parts of the body) [3]. New treatments are helping some patients live longer, especially in the short term, but long-term survival for advanced disease has not improved much yet [1]. These numbers are general trends and do not predict what will happen to any specific person.

    โš•๏ธ This is for learning, not treatment decisions. Always talk with your oncology team โ€” they know your full situation. The information here comes from published research and is meant to help you have better conversations with your doctors.
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