The Surprising Rise of Pancreatic Cancer Cases
Pancreatic cancer has recently been trending upward, shocking many experts and flying in the face of recent cancer trends. Here’s what the experts say might be behind this curious development.
When you look at overall cancer trends as a whole, the news is actually better than you might expect. A 2015 report by the American Institute for Cancer Research found that the incidence of many major cancers went down from 1975 to 2011. This included lung cancer and many other major cancers related to tobacco use. Overall, the incidence of cancer in the U.S. decreased .5 percent each year between 2002 and 2011.
What’s more, deaths from cancer are also on the decline to an even greater degree. A 2018 report by the American Cancer Society showed that the overall cancer death rate declined 26 percent between 1991 and 2015.
The Surprising News about Pancreatic Cancer
While this sounds like great news for, well, everyone, there’s one particularly troubling development when it comes to cancer news. And that’s the surprising rise of pancreatic cancer in recent years. According to the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network rates of pancreatic cancer have increased 1.8 percent for men and 1.4 percent for women year after year between 2004 and 2008. In 2018, the American Cancer Society projects that more than 55,000 people will be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. “When you consider that 30 years ago, this number was 32,000, the fact is nothing short of alarming,” says Ashok K. Saluja, PhD, director of the Pancreatic Cancer Research Institute at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center.
What makes this trend even more alarming is the fact that the majority of individuals who develop pancreatic cancer end up dying from the disease. The unfortunate fact is that the mortality rate related to pancreatic cancer is unusually high. For example, the American Cancer Society projects that while 55,000 people will be diagnosed with the disease in 2018, more than 44,000 people are likely to die from pancreatic cancer. “Two years ago, pancreatic cancer was the fourth leading cause of cancer death. Now it’s third,” says Dr. Saluja. “In 10 years, it’s projected to be second, and in 25 years it will be the leader.”
Shifting the Pancreatic Cancer Narrative
Why the sudden uptick in pancreatic cancer incidence? The perplexing thing, notes Dr. Saluja, is that it’s not exactly clear. While some risk factors, such as the rise in obesity and type 2 diabetes, seem to be linked to the disease, it’s mostly conjecture at this stage. And other risk factors, such as smoking and people living longer, are also tied to cancers that are decreasing in incidence. “The bottom line is, we’re not exactly sure why this is happening,” says Dr. Saluja.
As far as the high rate of deaths from pancreatic cancer goes, that’s been consistent for many years. Dr. Saluja says it’s due to the fact that pancreatic cancer is very aggressive and gives virtually no warning signs until it has reached its advanced stages. “Unlike other cancers, there are no tests to detect it, and no lumps or other unusual symptoms to let you know it’s there,” says Dr. Saluja. “By the time it’s detected, it’s often too late.”
Luckily, Dr. Saluja adds that there is hope for the future of pancreatic cancer. But the key, he says, is increased funding for research into the deadly disease. New targeted and biologic therapies are being developed and researched, but funding is the key to making a breakthrough against pancreatic cancer.
“Funding for pancreatic cancer research is lagging far behind other cancers,” says Dr. Saluja. “Whether the funding comes from the government, philanthropy or elsewhere, the key to solving this disease lies in increased funding research.”
Wyatt Myers is a contributing writer for the UMiami Health News Blog. Read more health innovation news from the University of Miami Health System, where this article was originally published.
