Pancreatic cancer remains a troubling area of cancer research for scientists, even as inroads are made in other forms of the disease, according to .
Survival rates for blood-related cancers have improved more than any other type, from 16 to 19 per cent. Female breast cancer death rates have decreased by an estimated 48 per cent since they peaked in the 80s. And incidence and death rates from lung cancer鈥攖he most likely form of cancer a Canadian will be diagnosed with鈥攈ave recently started to decrease in females.
Cancer survival rates overall have increased by 8 per cent since the early 90s, from 55 to 63 per cent. The improvement is largely due to research that has led to improvements in precision medicine that tailors therapy to the patient, said experts.
But pancreatic cancer remains a 鈥渉arder nut to crack,鈥� said Dr. Jennifer Knox, an oncologist at Princess Margaret Hospital.
It is expected to shift from the fourth to the third leading cause of Canadian cancer deaths this year, surpassing breast cancer, according to the .
鈥淲e鈥檙e not winning on this one yet,鈥� Knox told 麻豆传媒. 鈥淎 lot of the gains that have been made in other areas鈥� haven鈥檛 really worked in pancreas cancer. It鈥檚 different. It鈥檚 harder to treat, and it鈥檚 probably not as uniform as we thought it was.鈥�
Researchers have been unable to identify why incidence of pancreatic cancer are on the rise. They recognize risk factors鈥攕moking, diabetes, obesity, history of pancreatitis, certain blood types, family history鈥攂ut explanations are still hazy. 鈥淚t isn鈥檛 as cause-and-effect as smoking with lung cancer was at one point in time,鈥� said Knox.
Recent research has shown that 鈥渞are subtypes鈥� of pancreatic cancer respond better to chemotherapy than average types. 鈥淲e鈥檙e starting to slowly but surely tease out little tiny groups of pancreas cancer who now are doing much better than, say, five years ago,鈥� she said.
It鈥檚 not just difficult to treat, but difficult to catch, as symptoms can include such vague issues as fatigue, nausea and lack of appetite.
For Ingrid Bryan, the symptoms weren鈥檛 particularly alarming when she was diagnosed two years ago. 鈥淚 just didn鈥檛 feel very good鈥攖hat鈥檚 all鈥攕tomach-wise. You think of all sorts of things. Your diet. Perhaps you鈥檙e suffering from some sort of allergy. I didn鈥檛 think very much about it. But it didn鈥檛 get any better, so I finally went to the doctor about it,鈥� said Bryan, whose father died of pancreatic cancer.
Three-quarters of cases in Canada are diagnosed in , when the cancer has spread to other parts of the body. That鈥檚 what happened to Radomir Stojadinovic of Tillsonburg, Ont. Doctors found his cancer last December.
鈥淢y symptoms started almost nine months before they diagnosed me,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 kept steadily losing weight and appetite.鈥� Then doctors discovered Stage 4 pancreatic cancer that had spread to his liver. He has undergone 11 rounds of chemotherapy and is now on a medication to keep the cancer stable. He is fishing and feels well. 鈥淚 feel perfect,鈥� he said.
Still the urgency for more research has never been more apparent. For Michelle Cappobianco, executive director of the Pancreatic Cancer Canada Foundation advocacy group, the numbers reflect a reality that may worsen.
鈥淲e know that it鈥檚 on a trajectory to be the second deadliest cancer by 2030. The results, while disturbing, are not unexpected. Pancreatic cancer is the only major cancer where the incident rate is increasing,鈥� said Capobianco.
PC Canada is now funding five studies, some into the tailoring of treatment to the patient. Bryan is a part of that study and doing well. 鈥淚鈥檝e had a great life the last two years and I鈥檓 still feeling well,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 thanks to the treatment.鈥�
There is hope in new research, said Cappobianco, adding that Canadians should look to other research successes for some optimism amidst the dire numbers.
鈥淚f you look at breast cancer, 40 years ago it was exactly where pancreatic cancer is today,鈥� she said. 鈥淚f we can make similar investment in pancreatic research, we can turn these statistics around.鈥�
