Pancreatic Cancer Facts 2012
About every 12 minutes, another American is diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
1
Pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer death in the United States.
1
Pancreatic cancer has the lowest relative survival rate of all major cancers. Only
6%
of pancreatic cancer patients will survive more than five years, and 74%
of patients die within the first year of diagnosis.
In 2012, an estimated 43,920 Americans will be diagnosed with pancreatic
cancer in the U.S. and approximately 37,390 are projected to die from
the disease.
1
Based on the changing demographics of the U.S. population and changes in
the incidence rate and death rate, the number of new cases of pancreatic cancer
will increase more than 2-fold and the number of pancreatic cancer deaths will
increase by 2.4-fold by the year 2030.
2
Pancreatic cancer is expected to move from the fourth to the second leading
cause of cancer death in the U.S. by 2020 and possibly as early as 2015.
2
The National Cancer Institute spent an estimated $99.5 million on pancreatic
cancer research in 2011. This figure represents just 2% of the NCI’s $5 billion
cancer research budget for that year.
3
Pancreatic cancer has been ignored for too long.
We have the power to change the course of history for this disease.
1
American Cancer Society.
Cancer Facts & Figures 2012.
Atlanta: American Cancer Society
2
The Alarming Rise of Pancreatic Cancer Deaths in the United States,
Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, 2012
3
NCI Funded Research Portfolio,
http://fundedresearch.cancer.gov
(Accessed September 2012)