Pancreas Cancer on the Rise: Are We Up to the Challenge?

Extract

With single-digit 5-year survival rates, pancreatic cancer remains the deadliest of the major malignancies. Disturbing reports predict that pancreatic cancer will become the number two cause of cancer death in less than a decade (1). With the paper by Ma et al. in this issue of the Journal, we learn intriguing details about the changing incidence of pancreatic cancer (2).

Unfortunately, this report demonstrates a rising incidence of death from pancreatic cancer, although in recent years this trend has been limited to the white population (2). Although the slight decline in death rate in black Americans is encouraging, only modest improvements have been made in therapies over time, so this trend is unlikely to continue. In addition, the data for Asian and Hispanic populations remains unknown. This information will be very important when trying to predict the future impact of this disease in the United States.

In the article by Ma et al., there is a thorough discussion of known risk factors for pancreatic cancer, highlighting opportunities for us to intercede and thus improve outcomes in this disease, although thus far we have not capitalized on these opportunities (2). Efforts to combat tobacco use fall short, and although cigarette use continues to decline in the United States, use of other forms of combustible tobacco is on the rise (3). From 2000 to 2011, cigar consumption increased 233.1%, and pipe tobacco consumption rose 482.1%. The antismoking campaigns have been successful but have never really addressed noncigarette tobacco use in an adequate manner.