Pancreatic cancer at a glance

Pancreatic cancer is known for its poor prognosis and low 5-year survival rate of about 5% globally. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) gathered estimates of pancreatic cancer incidence and mortality rates across 185 countries and reported its findings in the GLOBOCAN 2020 database. In 2020, 495,773 new cases of pancreatic cancer were identified worldwide, with the thirteenth highest incidence rate among all cancers, and the majority of countries with the highest incidence of pancreatic cancer located in Europe. It is the world's seventh leading cancer-related mortality at 466,003 deaths, with Northern America and Europe experiencing the highest mortality rates. Moreover, majority of the countries with the highest estimated prevalence ratios are located in Europe at 1, 3, and 5 years. The incidence and mortality age-standardized rates of pancreatic cancer are positively associated with a rise in Human Development Indexes (HDI) and income, and these rates are projected to increase by the year 2040 worldwide, regardless of sex, when compared to 2020.