Pancreatic cancer

Half of all pancreatic cancers are found only after they have spread. Caught while still confined to the pancreas, five-year survival is roughly 13 times higher.

Five-year relative survival by stage

Stage at diagnosis 5-year survival Share of cases
Caught early : Still only where it started. This is what screening looks for. 43.6% 15.0%
Spread nearby : Reached lymph nodes or tissue next to where it started. 17.0% 28.0%
Caught late : Reached organs elsewhere in the body. Doctors call this metastatic. 3.4% 51.0%
Stage unknown : The record did not say how far it had spread. 12.5% 5.0%
All cases : Everyone diagnosed, early and late together. 13.7% n/a

Source: NCI SEER Cancer Stat Facts, cases diagnosed 2016-2022.

Figures are 5-year relative survival by SEER stage at diagnosis from the NCI Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) program. They describe outcomes by the stage at which a cancer was found; they are not outcomes attributable to whole-body MRI screening, which has not been shown in randomized trials to reduce cancer mortality. What these numbers do and do not show.

12.8×

Better odds of being alive five years later when pancreatic cancer is caught before it spreads, compared with after it has reached other organs.

Where cases are caught today

51.0% of pancreatic cancer cases have already spread to other organs by the time anyone looks.

Other cancers where stage decides the outcome

Ovarian cancer

2.9×better odds

Caught early
91.9%
Caught late
31.5%

5-year relative survival, 2016-2022. NCI SEER Cancer Stat Facts

Find out while it is still small

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