Damning report reveals pancreatic cancer death rates have soared by 5% across Europe

Pancreatic cancer is killing more Europeans than ever and death rates are rising, according to new research.

The number of deaths has almost doubled in the past three decades and it now kills more than 95,000 people a year, making it the continent’s deadliest cancer.

Five per cent more people died of the disease in 2016 than in 1990, meaning the death rate is the fastest rising of all the EU’s top five causes of death.

Hungary has the most people dying of the disease, with 12 in every 100,000, whereas the lowest rate is in Cyprus where it’s seven.

The UK ranks 19th out of 28 countries, with a death rate of nine people per 100,000, according to the figures.

Hungary has the highest rate of people dying from pancreatice cancer, with more than 12 in every 100,000 people being killed by the disease. Cyprus has the lowest death rate but it is accelerating quickly – the death rate has jumped by 31 per cent there since 1990

A report by the non-profit organisation, United European Gastroenterology, has compared the impact of pancreatic cancer on the continent in 1990 and 2016.

On average, the death rate has risen by five per cent, but some countries have seen a huge spike – the death rate rose by 31 per cent in Romania and Cyprus.

Whereas in Poland the rate fell by 11 per cent, and there was a seven per cent drop in Belgium, Ireland and Finland.

In the UK – where fewer than 1 per cent of people survive 10 years after diagnosis – the number of deaths rose by one per cent over the 26-year period.

The disease has the lowest average survival time after diagnosis out of all the cancers – just four-and-a-half months.

Known as ‘the silent killer’, symptoms are hard to identify – making it difficult to catch early when life-saving surgery can still be carried out.

Yet despite patients losing 98 per cent of their remaining expected healthy life expectancy the illness receives less than two per cent of all cancer research funding.

‘If we are to take a stand against the continent’s deadliest cancer, we must address the insufficient research funding; that is where the European Union can lead the way,’ said Professor Markus Peck of United European Gastroenterology (UEG).

Pancreatic cancer has now overtaken breast cancer to make it the third most lethal type – behind lung and bowel, say experts.

EUROPEAN COUNTRIES WITH THE MOST DEATHS FROM PANCREATIC CANCER 

  1. Hungary (12.29 per 100,000 people) 
  2. Czech Republic (12.16)
  3. Denmark (10.84)
  4. The Netherlands (10.8)
  5. Slovakia (10.79)
  6. Finland (10.61)
  7. Austria (10.58)
  8. Germany (10.44)
  9. Latvia (10.26)
  10. Slovenia (10.19) 

EUROPEAN COUNTRIES WITH THE FEWEST DEATHS FROM PANCREATIC CANCER 

  1. Cyprus (7.47 per 100,000 people) 
  2. Spain (7.55)
  3. Portugal (7.55)
  4. Bulgaria (8.71)
  5. Greece (8.78)
  6. Belgium (8.89)
  7. Romania (8.9)
  8. Lithuania (9.05)
  9. France (9.27)
  10. United Kingdom (9.33) 

Lung, breast and bowel cancer have seen significant reductions in their death rates since 1990.

Scientists believe the key to turning the tide lies in targeting gut bacteria – the body’s own ecosystem of 10trillion bugs which has been linked to a host of illnesses.  

Pancreatic cancer expert Professor Thomas Seufferlein said: ‘Research looking at the impact of the microbiome on pancreatic cancer is a particularly exciting new area, as the pancreas was previously thought of as a sterile organ.

WHAT IS PANCREATIC CANCER? 

Pancreatic cancer is one of the most lethal forms of the disease.

Around 95 percent of people who contract it die from it.    

Around 10,000 people are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer each year in the UK, and 50,000 in the US. 

WHO HAS THE HIGHEST RISK?

Most cases (90 percent) are in people over the age of 55.

Around half of all new cases occur in people aged 75 or older. One in 10 cases are attributed to genetics.

Other triggers include age, smoking and other health conditions, including diabetes.

WHY IS IT SO LETHAL?

There is no screening method for pancreatic cancer. 

Pancreatic cancer typically does not show symptoms in the early stages, when it would be more manageable. 

Sufferers tend to start developing the tell-tale signs – jaundice and abdominal pain – around stage 3 or 4, when it has likely already spread to other organs.    

WHAT ARE THE TREATMENT OPTIONS? 

The only effective treatment is removal of the pancreas. 

This proves largely ineffective for those whose cancer has spread to other organs. 

In those cases, palliative care is advised to ease their pain at the end of their life.  

‘Such research will also improve our understanding of the microenvironment and how the tumour responds to its environment.’    

Researchers are investigating how changing the pancreas’ microbiome may help to slow tumour growth and enable the body to develop its own ‘defence mechanism’. 

Studies have shown removing bacteria from the gut and pancreas slowed cancer growth and have managed to ‘reprogramme’ immune cells to attack cancer cells.  

This development offers hope doctors will finally be able to slow tumour growth, stop spread and ultimately change the disease’s progression.

Professor Seufferlein added: ‘With continued investment in pancreatic cancer research, we should have new, important findings within the next five years.

‘And, hopefully, [we will] find that targeting the microbiome as well as tumour cells will significantly improve treatment outcomes and reduce death rates.’

Pancreatic cancer begins in the tissues of the pancreas – an organ in the abdomen which lies behind the lower part of the stomach.

It produces enzymes which aid digestion and hormones that help regulate the body’s ability to use sugars from food.

Pancreatic cancer often has a poor prognosis even when diagnosed early – and it spreads rapidly. 

The NHS said those aged 50 to 80, those who are overweight or obese, have other health conditions such as diabetes, chronic pancreatitis, or stomach ulcers, or are heavy drinkers are at greater risk of the disease. 

The UEG’s Professor Peck added: ‘Whilst medical and scientific innovations have positively changed the prospects for many cancer patients, those diagnosed with pancreatic cancer have not been blessed with much clinically meaningful progress.

‘To deliver earlier diagnoses and improved treatments we need to engage now in more basic as well as applied research to see real progress for our patients in the years to come.’  

HOW DEATHS FROM PANCREATIC CANCER HAVE CHANGED BETWEEN 1990 AND 2016 – EUROPEAN COUNTRIES RANKED BY CHANGE IN DEATH RATES 
Country Year Deaths Death rate
per 100,000
Year Deaths Death rate
per 100,000
Change
1990-2016
Romania 1990 1,742 6.78 2016 2,862 8.9 31%
Cyprus 1990 38 5.71 2016 94 7.47 31%
France 1990 5,626 7.45 2016 11,161 9.27 24%
Bulgaria 1990 800 7.08 2016 1,142 8.71 23%
Slovakia 1990 487 9.27 2016 848 10.79 16%
Germany 1990 10,411 9.06 2016 17,838 10.44 15%
Netherlands 1990 1,713 9.42 2016 3,210 10.8 15%
Greece 1990 1,093 7.93 2016 1,970 8.78 11%
Hungary 1990 1,473 11.12 2016 2,081 12.29 11%
Spain 1990 3,476 6.94 2016 6,466 7.55 9%
Croatia 1990 533 9.32 2016 765 9.91 6%
Estonia 1990 178 9.61 2016 242 10.12 5%
Slovenia 1990 217 9.88 2016 387 10.19 3%
Italy 1990 7,478 9.28 2016 12,446 9.57 3%
Portugal 1990 947 7.39 2016 1,557 7.55 2%
Latvia 1990 323 10.05 2016 374 10.26 2%
Austria 1990 1,119 10.41 2016 1,666 10.58 2%
United Kingdom 1990 7,624 9.2 2016 10,563 9.33 1%
Denmark 1990 791 10.69 2016 1,089 10.84 1%
Lithuania 1990 373 9.05 2016 469 9.05 0%
Malta 1990 34 9.86 2016 72 9.76 -1%
Luxembourg 1990 51 10.2 2016 83 9.7 -5%
Sweden 1990 1,399 10.17 2016 1,769 9.64 -5%
Czech Republic 1990 1,601 12.99 2016 2,193 12.16 -6%
Belgium 1990 1,343 9.51 2016 1,808 8.89 -7%
Ireland 1990 384 10.3 2016 591 9.62 -7%
Finland 1990 725 11.39 2016 1,128 10.61 -7%
Poland 1990 4,093 10.53 2016 5,717 9.4 -11%

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