Pancreatic Cancer
Global mortality data, country rankings, and trends for Pancreatic Cancer from 1990 to 2021.
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Pancreatic Cancer is a significant contributor to the global burden of disease. This page presents data from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) Global Burden of Disease Study, showing mortality trends, country rankings, and regional patterns. Understanding the epidemiology of pancreatic cancer helps inform public health interventions and resource allocation.
This data is sourced from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) Global Burden of Disease Study 2023, processed via Our World in Data. All rates are age-standardized per 100,000 population unless otherwise noted. Explore related mortality data using the links below.
Pancreatic cancer is one of the most lethal malignancies, killing approximately 466,000 people annually with a five-year survival rate of only 10-12%. Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma accounts for over 90% of cases. The disease is characterised by late presentation, rapid progression, and resistance to most therapies. Incidence is highest in high-income countries and increases sharply with age. Tobacco smoking is the strongest modifiable risk factor, approximately doubling risk. Other risk factors include chronic pancreatitis, obesity, type 2 diabetes, heavy alcohol use, and family history. The lack of effective screening methods and the anatomical inaccessibility of the pancreas mean that most cases are diagnosed at stage III or IV when surgery is no longer curative. Despite decades of research, pancreatic cancer mortality has barely improved, making it the focus of intensive efforts to develop early detection biomarkers and novel therapeutic approaches.
Smoking cessation reduces pancreatic cancer risk. Maintaining a healthy weight and limiting alcohol intake are additional preventive measures. There is no recommended population-level screening programme, though surveillance with endoscopic ultrasound and MRI is offered to high-risk individuals (those with hereditary pancreatitis or familial pancreatic cancer syndromes). Surgical resection (Whipple procedure) offers the only chance of cure but is feasible in only 15-20% of patients at diagnosis. FOLFIRINOX and gemcitabine-nab-paclitaxel improve survival in advanced disease, and immunotherapy shows promise in mismatch repair-deficient tumours.