Pancreatic Cancer Action

Research funding for pancreatic cancer has fallen by nearly 13 per cent despite no significant improvement in the 3% five-year survival rate for the UK’s fifth biggest cancer killer, according to national charity, Pancreatic Cancer Action.

We now have the latest UK Pancreatic Cancer Statistics for 2011 available either online or to download. This year we include pancreatic cancer incidence and survival trends for the Republic of Ireland as well as England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

By screening high risk patients with a combination of the tumour marker serum CA 19-9 and an endoscopic ultrasound, researchers now believe that pancreatic cancer can be identified earlier and with greater accuracy than current methods of detection.

In light of today's media interest in lifestyle and increased cancer risk, we would like to highlight the fact that with pancreatic cancer, which is the fifth leading cause of cancer death in the UK, risk can also be attributed to lifestyle factors such as smoking and obesity - but impacts both men and women.