Nationwide improvement of only short-term survival after resection for pancreatic cancer in the Netherlands

OBJECTIVES: Evaluation of incidence, treatment, and survival trends after resection of pancreatic cancer at a national level.

METHODS: Using data on patient and tumor characteristics from the nationwide Netherlands Cancer Registry trends were analyzed for the period 1989-2008.

RESULTS: A total of 30,025 patients diagnosed with pancreatic cancer were included. The incidence remained stable over the 20-year study period at approximately 9 per 100,000 inhabitants. Resection rates increased from 8% in 1989 to 12% in 2008, adjuvant chemotherapy rates increased from 7% to 29%, and palliative chemotherapy rates increased from 5% to 19% (P < 0.0001 each). Relative survival proportions did not change over time; besides a minimal, nonsignificant increase at 3 months from 53% to 55%, these remained 34% at 6 months and 4.5% at 3 years. Among the patients undergoing tumor resection, relative survival increased from 82% to 93% at 3 months and from 51% to 63% at 1 year after diagnosis. However, no improvement was seen after 3 years (23%).

CONCLUSIONS: The increased short-term survival among patients who underwent resection probably reflects decreased postoperative mortality driven by ongoing centralization efforts. However, longer-term survival remained poor irrespective of the changes in management in the past decades.