Early Diagnosis of Cancer of the Pancreas: A Key Step in Improving Survival Rates

Cancer of the pancreas has a lifetime incidence in the United States of 1.6% [1]. It accounts for 3.2% of all new cancers and is the 12th most common cancer. The survival of those diagnosed with cancer of the pancreas is unfortunately poor. The majority of pancreatic carcinoma patients are diagnosed at advanced stages of disease [2]. Only 15-20% of patients are candidates for surgical resection at diagnosis and the 5 year survival is less than 10% [3,4]. It is expected to become the second leading cause of death from cancer within a decade [5]. Cancer of the pancreas is the only common cancer for which early detection is not universally available.