Abstract A85: Incidence rates of exocrine and endocrine pancreatic cancers in the United States

A85

Pancreatic cancer is the most fatal of all major cancers with an incidence rate that approximates mortality. However, studies describing pancreatic cancer incidence, which may provide insight into its etiology, have been sparse particularly in terms of histology and tumor stage. The purpose of this study was to examine the incidence rates of exocrine and endocrine pancreatic cancers by age at diagnosis, gender, race/ethnicity and stage of the disease using data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) program of the National Cancer Institute from 1973 to 2005. Based on the data from nine SEER registries, the age-adjusted incidence rates, expressed per 100,000, of exocrine and endocrine pancreatic cancer were higher among males (8.18 and 0.24) than females (6.02 and 0.17), and the rates tend to be higher among Blacks (10.12 and 0.23) than Whites (6.78 and 0.20) and other races (6.01 and 0.16). The incidence rate for exocrine pancreatic cancer was generally stable over the 33 year period, whereas the incidence rate for endocrine pancreatic cancer increased over time. This difference in trend by histology existed across age, gender and racial groups. The increase in endocrine tumors was observed for all stages of disease: localized, regional and distant. However, it was most prominent for localized tumors. Additional analysis showed similar trends for exocrine and endocrine tumors across four racial/ethnic groups (Non-Hispanic White, Hispanic White, Non-Hispanic Black, Asian and Pacific Islander) using data from 1992 to 2005 for thirteen SEER registries. While improvement in diagnosis may have contributed to the rising incidence of endocrine tumors, other factors may also be related.

Citation Information: Cancer Prev Res 2008;1(7 Suppl):A85.