Statistics About Pancreatic Cancer

Some people use statistics to try to figure out their chances of getting cancer or of making a full recovery. It is important to remember that this data shows what happens with large groups of people. Because no two people are alike, you can’t use this data to know or predict what will happen to you.

These are 2011 statistics from the American Cancer Society’s Facts & Figures about pancreatic cancer:

• About 44,030 people will be told they have pancreatic cancer this year.

• The rate of pancreatic cancer in both men and women has decreased slightly over the past 15 to 25 years.

• Nearly 90 percent of people with cancer of the pancreas are ages 55 and older, and more than 70 percent are ages 65 and older.

• African-Americans are more likely to develop pancreatic cancer than whites - the reasons for this are not clear.

• Smokers are two to three times as likely as nonsmokers to get pancreatic cancer.

• An estimated 37,660 Americans will die of pancreatic cancer this year, making it the fourth leading cause of cancer-related death in both men and women.