Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma: exploring clinicopathological trends and racial disparities in a comprehensive U.S. population-based study

Introduction

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a highly aggressive malignancy about 50% of PDAC are metastatic at presentation. In this study, we evaluated PDAC demographics, annual trend analysis, racial disparities, survival rate, and the role of different treatment modalities in localized and metastatic disease.

Methods

A total of 144,824 cases of PDAC were obtained from the SEER database from 2000 to 2018.

Results

The median age was 69 years, with a slightly higher incidence in males (52%) and 80% of all cases were white. Among cases with available data, 43% were grade III tumors and 57% were metastatic. The most common site of metastasis was the liver (15.7%). The annual incidence has increased steadily from 2000 to 2018. The overall observed (OS) 5-year survival rate was 4.4% (95% CI 4.3–4.6%), and 5 years cause-specific survival (CSS) was 5% (95% CI 5.1–5.4%). The 5-year survival with multimodal therapy (chemotherapy, surgery, and radiation) was 22% (95% CI 20.5–22.8%). 5-year CSS for the blacks was lower at 4.7% (95% CI 4.2–5.1%) compared to the whites at 5.3% (95% CI 5.1–5.4%). Multivariate analysis found male gender and black race associated with worse prognosis. Kaplan–Meier survival analysis found multimodal therapy to have the best outcomes in all three stages.

Conclusion

PDAC is an aggressive malignancy with male gender and black race are associated with a poor prognosis. Surgery with chemoradiation was associated with the best overall survival. With steadily increasing rates of PDAC, improved treatment modalities are paramount to improving survival in these patients.