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14.1 Summary
Pancreatic cancer was the eleventh most common cancer in Ireland, accounting for 2.6% of all malignant neoplasms, excluding non-melanoma skin cancer, in women and 2.5% in men (Table 14.1). The average number of new cases diagnosed each year was 272 in women and 269 in men. During 1995-2007, the number of new cases diagnosed showed an overall increase of approximately 4% per annum.
The risk of developing pancreatic cancer up to the age of 74 was 1 in 169 for women and 1 in 123 for men and was similar in RoI and NI. At the end of 2008, 101 women and 115 men aged under 65, and 197 women and 154 men aged 65 and over, were alive up to 15 years after their pancreatic cancer diagnosis.
Table 14.1 Summary information for pancreatic cancer in Ireland, 1995-2007
Ireland | RoI | NI | ||||
females | males | females | males | females | males | |
% of all new cancer cases | 1.9% | 1.8% | 2.0% | 1.8% | 1.7% | 1.8% |
% of all new cancer cases excluding non-melanoma skin cancer | 2.6% | 2.5% | 2.8% | 2.5% | 2.3% | 2.4% |
average number of new cases per year | 272 | 269 | 192 | 189 | 80 | 81 |
cumulative risk to age 74 | 0.6% | 0.8% | 0.6% | 0.8% | 0.5% | 0.8% |
15-year prevalence (1994-2008) | 298 | 269 | 239 | 198 | 59 | 71 |
Pancreatic cancer is a disease of older people; fewer than 20% of new cases were diagnosed in persons under 60 years old, while almost 60% presented at 70 years or over (Figure 14.1). The average age at diagnosis was older for women than men, with a similar age distribution in RoI and NI.
Figure 14.1 Age distribution of pancreatic cancer cases in Ireland, 1995-2007, by sex
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