What are my chances of survival from pancreatic cancer?

Pancreatic cancer survival rates are poor, as more than 90 percent of people with pancreatic cancer die within the first year of diagnosis. Recent advancements in pancreatic cancer research have had little impact on the prognosis for pancreatic cancer, and new pancreatic cancer treatments are desperately needed.

Because pancreatic cancer is difficult to diagnose, the disease is frequently undetected in its earliest stage, and has already spread, or metastasized, by the time it is diagnosed. Once pancreatic cancer has spread to the liver, median survival for patients is five to six months. At New York-Presbyterian/Columbia, new treatments developed in the laboratory have doubled this survival period in initial studies.

Pancreatic cancer survival, like any other cancer, depends on the stage of the cancer when diagnosed. Pancreatic cancer is often diagnosed late in its course due to the lack of early significant symptoms and the speed with which pancreatic cancer spreads. The survival of someone with stage I disease is significantly better than someone with stage IV. Overall about 1 in 64 patients are alive at 5 years post-diagnosis. That includes ALL patients: those diagnosed with early disease AND those with advanced disease.

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Pancreatic cancer has a high mortality rate so the outcomes aren't very good for someone diagnosed with it.