Pancreatic cancer statistics

Cases

New cases of pancreatic cancer, 2017-2019 average, UK

Deaths

Deaths from pancreatic cancer, 2017-2019, UK

 

 

Survival

Survive pancreatic cancer for 10 or more years, 2013-17, England

Prevention

Preventable cases of pancreatic cancer, UK

  • There are around 10,800 new pancreatic cancer cases in the UK every year, that's 30 every day (2017-2019).
  • Pancreatic cancer is the 10th most common cancer in the UK, accounting for 3% of all new cancer cases (2017-2019).
  • In females in the UK, pancreatic cancer is the 9th most common cancer, with around 5,200 new cases every year (2017-2019).
  • In males in the UK, pancreatic cancer is the 12th most common cancer, with around 5,600 new cases every year (2017-2019).
  • Incidence rates for pancreatic cancer in the UK are highest in people aged 85 to 89 (2017-2019).
  • Each year almost half (47%) of all new pancreatic cancer cases in the UK are diagnosed in people aged 75 and over (2017-2019).
  • Since the early 1990s, pancreatic cancer incidence rates have increased by around a sixth (18%) in the UK. Rates in females have increased by around a fifth (19%), and rates in males have increased by around a seventh (15%) (2017-2019).
  • Over the last decade, pancreatic cancer incidence rates have increased by almost a tenth (8%) in the UK. Rates in females have increased by more than a twentieth (7%), and rates in males have increased by a tenth (10%) (2017-2019).
  • The most common specific location for pancreatic cancers in the UK is the head of the pancreas (2016-2018).
  • See our new Early Diagnosis Data Hub for statistics on stage at diagnosis for pancreatic cancer.
  • Pancreatic cancer incidence rates are projected to rise by 5% in the UK between 2023-2025 and 2038-2040.
  • There could be around 16,000 new cases of pancreatic cancer every year in the UK by 2038-2040, projections suggest.
  • Pancreatic cancer incidence rates in England in females are 19% higher in the most deprived quintile compared with the least, and in males are 20% higher in the most deprived quintile compared with the least (2013-2017).
  • Around 540 cases of pancreatic cancer each year in England are linked with deprivation (around 220 in females and around 320 in males).
  • Pancreatic cancer incidence rates for persons are lower in the Asian ethnic group and in people of mixed or multiple ethnicity, but higher in the Black ethnic group, compared with the White ethnic group, in England (2013-2017). See our publication Cancer Incidence by Broad Ethnic Group for more details, including breakdowns for sex.
  • An estimated 6,600 people who had previously been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer were alive in the UK at the end of 2010.

See more in-depth pancreatic cancer incidence statistics

  • There are around 9,600 pancreatic cancer deaths in the UK every year, that's 26 every day (2017-2019).
  • Pancreatic cancer is the 5th most common cause of cancer death in the UK, accounting for 6% of all cancer deaths (2017-2019).
  • In females in the UK, pancreatic cancer is the 5th most common cause of cancer death, with around 4,700 deaths every year (2017-2019).
  • In males in the UK, pancreatic cancer is the 5th most common cause of cancer death, with around 4,900 deaths every year (2017-2019).
  • Mortality rates for pancreatic cancer in the UK are highest in people aged 85 to 89 (2017-2019).
  • Each year around half of all pancreatic cancer deaths (51%) in the UK are in people aged 75 and over (2017-2019).
  • Since the early 1970s, pancreatic cancer mortality rates have remained stable in the UK. Rates in females have increased by more than a tenth (12%), and rates in males have decreased by more than a tenth (12%) (2017-2019).
  • Over the last decade, pancreatic cancer mortality rates have increased by less than a twentieth (3%) in the UK. Rates in females have remained stable, and rates in males have increased by around a twentieth (4%) (2017-2019).
  • Mortality rates for pancreatic cancer are generally lower or similar in people of non-White minority ethnicity, compared with the White ethnic group, in England and Wales (2017-2019). See the publication Mortality from leading causes of death by ethnic group, England and Wales.
  • Pancreatic cancer mortality rates are projected to fall by 4% in the UK between 2023-2025 and 2038-2040.
  • There could be around around 12,600 deaths of pancreatic cancer every year in the UK by 2038-2040, projections suggest.
  • Pancreatic cancer deaths in England are more common in people living in the most deprived areas.

See more in-depth pancreatic cancer mortality statistics

  • 5 in 100 (5.0%) people diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in England survive their disease for ten years or more, it is predicted (2013-2017).
  • Pancreatic cancer ten-year survival in England is similar in females and males (2013-2017).
  • Around 3 in 20 (16.2%) people in England diagnosed with pancreatic cancer aged 15-54 survive their disease for ten years or more, compared with almost 5 in 100 (2.6%) of people diagnosed aged 75-99 (2013-2017).
  • Pancreatic cancer survival has not shown much improvement in the last 50 years in the UK.
  • In the 1970s, only 1 in 100 (1.3%) of people diagnosed with pancreatic cancer survived their disease beyond ten years, by the 2010s it was still only 1 in 100 (1.1%).
  • Almost a tenth (7.8%) of people in England diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in the least deprived group survive their disease for five years or more, compared with more than 5 in 100 (6.7%) people in the most deprived group (2015-2019).
  • Five-year relative survival for pancreatic cancer is generally below the European average in the UK. Further details on cancer survival in Europe can be found on the EUROCARE website.
  • For pancreatic cancer, like other cancer sites, survival trends reflect a combination of changes in treatment and stage distribution. These factors themselves can vary by age, sex and deprivation.
  • Further information on treatments for cancer can be found here.
  • Further one-, five- and ten-year survival statistics can be found on the Cancer Statistics Dashboard.

Find further information on our pancreatic cancer survival trends page

  • A person’s risk of developing cancer depends on many factors, including age, genetics, and exposure to risk factors (including some potentially avoidable lifestyle factors).
  • 1 in 59 UK females and 1 in 55 UK males will be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in their lifetime (born in 1961).
  • 31% of pancreatic cancer cases in the UK are preventable.

See more in-depth pancreatic cancer risk statistics

See the interactive cancer treatment online tool produced by the National Cancer Registration and Analysis Service (NCRAS) in partnership with Cancer Research UK (CRUK). This presents, for the first time, population-based statistics on chemotherapy, radiotherapy and surgical tumour resections in England, by demographic factors and geography.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to the many organisations across the UK which collect, analyse, and share the data which we use, and to the patients and public who consent for their data to be used. Find out more about the sources which are essential for our statistics.