Key message:

Survival is improving in each of the countries of Great Britain. There is little difference between one-year relative survival for pancreatic cancer observed between countries.

One-year relative survival rates for pancreatic cancer in Great Britain, 1995-2009

Background

Pancreatic cancer is often diagnosed at an advanced stage as most symptoms may not be evident while the tumour is small and localised. This is one of the major reasons that survival rates are low. This data briefing aims to present a comparison of survival between the constituent countries of Great Britain: England, Wales and Scotland in three time periods (1995-1999, 2000-2004, 2005-2009).

Results

For men diagnosed with pancreatic cancer the one-year relative survival was quite similar across all countries in Great Britain. Survival rates improved for all countries and in the most recent period (2005-2009) England had the highest one-year relative survival at 19.31%. There was an increase (between the first and last period) of 4.81 percentage points observed for England, whereas the increase in the other countries was around 3 percentage points.

For women diagnosed with pancreatic cancer the one-year relative survival in each of the periods was similar across all countries. Survival rates improved for all countries and in the most recent period (2005-2009) England had the highest one-year relative survival at 18.30%. One-year relative survival increased by about 4 to 5 percentage points for England and Wales. A smaller increase of about 2 percentage points was observed for Scotland between the earliest and most recent periods.

Pancreatic db figure 1

Figure 1: One-year relative survival for pancreatic cancer, men

Pancreatic db figure 2

Figure 2: One-year relative survival for pancreatic cancer, women

Methods

Data were extracted in August 2013 from the UK Cancer Information System (UKCIS). Relative survival measures the survival of cancer patients in comparison to survival in the general population to estimate the effect of cancer. It assumes that some patients will die of other causes and compares the observed survival with that expected for the general population. The cohort of people is similar with respect to age, sex and time period.

Time period Country Male Female
1995-1999 England 11,304 11,715
Scotland 1,278 1,474
Wales 754 875
2000-2004 England 12,571 13,207
Scotland 1,306 1,472
Wales 847 912
2005-2009 England  14,114 14,746
Scotland 1,455 1,551
Wales 904 960
Table 1 Number of patients diagnosed with pancreatic cancer between 1995-2009 by country

One-year relative survival rates in this briefing are based on patients diagnosed between 1995 and 2009 in Great Britain (Table 1). The survival rates are calculated from five-year periods of diagnosis. All patients were followed up for a year after their diagnosis. One-year relative survival rates are given for male and female patients resident in the constituent countries of Great Britain who were diagnosed with cancer of the pancreas (ICD-10 C25).

Final note

This briefing has shown that one-year relative survival is quite similar across all of the constituent countries of Great Britain. Positively, survival has been improving in each of the countries for both male and female patients.

In general, the increases in survival rates observed may be associated with changes in services such as more effective multidisciplinary working, increased use of chemotherapy and the centralisation of services to specialist centres in recent years. Initiatives aimed at raising awareness, earlier diagnosis and improving treatments should continue in all of the countries in Great Britain to further increase survival rates for pancreatic cancer.

FIND OUT MORE:

The Knowledge and Intelligence Team (London) is the lead for upper gastrointestinal cancers.

Other useful resources:

What cancer statistics are available, and where can I find them? - December 2013 

The National Cancer Intelligence Network (NCIN) is a UK-wide partnership operated by Public Health England. The NCIN coordinates and develops analysis and intelligence to drive improvements in prevention, standards of cancer care and clinical outcomes for cancer patients.