Pancreatic Cancer: An Agenda for Action. Report of the Pancreatic Cancer Progress Review Group

摘要

Pancreatic cancer is a devastating disease that swiftly robs patients of both quality and quantity of life. It is the fifth leading cause of cancer death in the United States. In 2001, an estimated 29,200 new cases will be diagnosed, and 28,900 people will die from the disease. Most of these tumors will be ductal adenocarcinomas, from which there currently is little chance of long-term survival-median survival is six months or less, and only four percent of patients are alive five years after diagnosis. Given its incidence and almost universal fatality, substantially increased research efforts are clearly warranted to understand, prevent, and control this disease. Pancreatic cancer has been understudied in both basic research laboratories and the clinic. In terms of total research dollars, total numbers of researchers, and numbers of researchers who are highly focused on this disease, pancreatic cancer lags significantly behind all of the most common tumors, despite their far more favorable survival rates.