Srinivas Gaddam, MD, Interventional Gastroenterologist, Assistant professor of Medicine at Cedars-Sinai Cancer speaks about Study: Incidence of Pancreatic Cancer Rising in Younger Women.
Link to Article:
https://www.cedars-sinai.org/newsroom/study-incidence-of-pancreatic-cancer-rising-in-younger-women/
Link to Jama Abstract:
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2785590?resultClick=1
Researchers at Cedars-Sinai Cancer Center discovered that the incidence of pancreatic cancer, which has historically been higher in males than in women, has grown in both men and women over the last decade, with a considerably higher proportional increase among younger women.
According to the findings, the average annual percentage change in total pancreatic cancer cases grew by 0.78 percent in women and 0.90 percent in males, with no statistically significant difference between the two categories. However, when the data was split down by gender"half of the patients in the study were women"the average annual percentage change in women under 55 was 1.93 percent, compared to 0.77 percent in men, indicating a “substantial difference.”
In addition, women aged 35 to 54 experienced an average annual percentage change of 1.56 percent, compared to 0.65 percent for men in the same age range. Women aged 15 to 34 experienced a 7.68 percent change, compared to 4.20 percent for men.
The study was published in the peer-reviewed journal JAMA on October 24.
From 2000 to 2018, the researchers used data from the Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) database. SEER is a program that gathers data from cancer registries that cover 37% of the US population. The researchers used a sex and age-based “time-trend” analysis. Data collected from a population over time to search for patterns and changes is referred to as time-trend.
While noteworthy, Gaddam cautions that this is simply the first of what might be a series of inquiries in the future. His group is investigating the causes of the rise in pancreatic cancer incidence among younger women, for example. Chemical pollutants that women are exposed to, birth rates, and birth control hormones are all possible causes.
Because pancreatic cancer is highly aggressive and resistant to most treatments, including chemotherapies and immunotherapies, researchers are focused on identifying new patterns, diagnosing the disease earlier, and developing effective treatments.
With a five-year survival rate of roughly 10%, pancreatic cancer is the fourth-largest cause of cancer death. According to the American Cancer Society, the disease accounts for around 3% of all malignancies in the United States and about 7% of all cancer fatalities.
Cedars-Sinai scientists already knew that the incidence of pancreatic cancer was rising in white older women and men, as well as white non-Hispanic young women, based on prior, non-comparative SEER-based research. However, there was a scarcity of data on recent developments in pancreatic cancer incidence.