Pancreatic cancer statistics
Please note that this page contains data on pancreatic cancer survival. These are general statistics for large groups of people, so they can’t tell you what will happen in your own case or that of a loved one.
Why data on pancreatic cancer is important?
Health data is important to ensure that people affected by the disease receive the best care possible. We need good data on pancreatic cancer in order to fully understand the disease. Data tells us how many people are diagnosed with cancer, what treatments they have, how long they live, and if this is getting better or worse.
Pancreatic Cancer | UK Statistics
Pancreatic cancer has the lowest survival of all common cancers, with five-year survival less than 7%. Five-year survival of pancreatic cancer in the UK lags behind the rest of the world, with the UK ranking 29th out of 33 countries with comparable data in CONCORD-3 (Figure 2).
Pancreatic Cancer | England
Pancreatic cancer is the 11th most common cancer in England with around 8500 people diagnosed every year. The age-standardised incidence rate is 16.9 people per 100,000 population.
Pancreatic cancer is the 5th biggest cancer killer in England with 7800 deaths every year. The age-standardised mortality rate is 15.4 per 100,000 population.
Access to pancreatic cancer treatment
7 in 10 people with pancreatic cancer do not receive any active treatment, including surgery, chemotherapy or radiotherapy.
1 in 10 people with pancreatic cancer will receive potentially curative surgery.
2 in 10 people will receive chemotherapy.
Pancreatic cancer survival
Pancreatic cancer is the deadliest common cancer, with the lowest survival of all common cancers. One-year survival in England is only 23.7% and five-year survival is only 6.9%.
Pancreatic cancer stage at diagnosis
3 in 5 people are diagnosed at an advanced stage (stage 3 and stage 4)
1 in 5 people (18%) are diagnosed at an early stage (stage 1 and stage 2)
Routes to diagnosis
44% of people with pancreatic cancer are diagnosed through emergency presentation, where the one-year survival is only 11.9% (3 times lower survival than people diagnosed through GP referral)
Pancreatic cancer outcomes across England
There are 19 Cancer Alliances across England bringing together different hospital trusts and health providers to transform cancer services and patient experience.
Find out more about Cancer Alliances and how we work with them.
We have analysed access to surgery in each Cancer Alliance across England and the mortality rate in each CCG (Clinical Commissioning Group).
UK Nations
Pancreatic cancer | Scotland
Cases: There were 784 new cases of pancreatic cancer diagnosed in Scotland in 2016, with an incidence rate of 15.5 per 100,000.
Deaths: There were 781 deaths from pancreatic cancer in Scotland in 2017, representing a mortality rate of 15.1 per 100,000.
Stage at diagnosis: 3 in 5 people are diagnosed at a late stage where potentially curative surgery is not possible.
Survival: Pancreatic cancer is the deadliest common cancer in Scotland. Five-year survival in Scotland is only 5.6% in 2010-2014, and has only increased by 2.1% since 2000-2004, when the survival was 3.5%.
Scotland has one of the worst five-year survivals in the world, ranking 35th of 36 countries with comparable data in CONCORD-3.
Cancer data for Scotland is collected by the Information Services Division, as part of the NHS National Services Scotland
Pancreatic cancer | Wales
Cases: 500 people are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer every year
Deaths: 450 people die from pancreatic cancer every year in Wales.
Survival: Pancreatic cancer is the deadliest common cancer in Wales. One-year survival for pancreatic cancer is 24.5% in Wales while five-year survival drops to 5.7%.
Wales has one of the worst five-year survivals in the world, ranking 34th of 36 countries with comparable data in CONCORD-3.
Stage at diagnosis: 3 in 5 people are diagnosed at a late stage where potentially curative surgery is not possible
Wales: Cancer data for Wales is collected and analysed by the Welsh Cancer Intelligence and Surveillance Unit.
Pancreatic cancer | Northern Ireland
Cases: 230 people were diagnosed with pancreatic cancer every year, with an incidence rate of 16.2 per 100,000.
Deaths: 219 people die from pancreatic cancer every year, with a mortality rate of 15.5 people 100,000 over the last 10 years.
Survival: Pancreatic cancer is the deadliest common cancer in Northern Ireland. One-year survival for pancreatic cancer is 23.8% in Northern Ireland and five-year survival drops to 6.2%.
Northern Ireland has one of the worst five-year survivals in the world, ranking 32nd of 36 countries with comparable data in CONCORD-3.
Stage at diagnosis: 3 in 5 people are diagnosed at a late stage where potentially curative surgery is not possible.
Northern Ireland: Cancer data for Northern Ireland is collected by Northern Ireland Cancer registry, Queen’s University Belfast:
Citation
If you are a health professional, charity, researcher or academic, you are welcome to quote these statistics in your work but please quote Pancreatic Cancer UK as the primary source.
Cancer registration
When a person is diagnosed with cancer in the UK, information about them is automatically included in their national registry. It is data from cancer registries that tells us how many people are diagnosed with cancer, what treatments they have, how long they live, and if this is getting better or worse.
We would like to acknowledge all the bodies that collect cancer data, and the patients and public who consent for their data to be collected.
Find out more how data is collected
Find out more information on Cancer Registration in England on the National Disease Registration Service website, or download a copy of the Cancer Registration information leaflet.
Incidence, mortality and survival statistics are published by the Office for National statistics (ONS)
Treatment Data is collected and analysed by the National Cancer Registration and Analysis Service (NCRAS), as part of Public Health England
Routes to Diagnosis is collected and analysed by the National Cancer Registration and Analysis Service (NCRAS), as part of Public Health England.
Statistics definitions
Incidence rate: Rates of newly diagnosed cases per 100,000 population
Mortality rate: Rates of new deaths attributed to cancer per 100,000 population
Active treatment: Active treatments are therapeutics that ameliorate the underlying cause of disease, whereas, palliative/supportive treatment aims to manage symptoms – including pain, nutrition and psychological symptoms
One-year survival: The proportion of people that will survive a year from diagnosis of a given disease
Five-year survival: The proportion of people that will survive five years from diagnosis of a given disease
CONCORD-3: A global surveillance study of 18 cancers that collectively represent 75% of all cancers diagnosed worldwide, across 71 countries from the period 2000-2014. The primary outcome was 5-year net survival. Our five-year survival statistics for pancreatic cancer are based on this study.