Key Takeaways
- High-Incidence Statistics: According to 2026 American Cancer Society estimates, pancreatic cancer accounts for about 3 percent of all U.S. cancer diagnoses and roughly 8 percent of cancer deaths.
- Prevalent Cancer Types: Exocrine tumors, primarily pancreatic adenocarcinoma, make up approximately 95 percent of all cases, while pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (pNETs) are significantly less common.
- Stage-Based Survival Rates: Pancreatic cancer 5-year relative survival rates range from 44 percent for localized tumors to 3 percent for stage IV distant spread, resulting in an overall combined 13 percent survival rate.
- Key Warning Signs: Early-stage pancreatic cancer often presents no symptoms, but later stages may cause jaundice, abdominal and back pain, unexplained weight loss and changes in stool or urine color.
- FDA-Approved Medical Therapies: Treatment advances include FDA-approved combination chemotherapy regimens like NALIRIFOX, targeted RAS inhibitors like daraxonrasib (Rasonque) and targeted therapies like cabozantinib (Cabometyx) for pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors.
According to the American Cancer Society, pancreatic cancer accounts for about 3% of all cancers in the U.S. and about 8% of all cancer deaths. In 2026, the ACS estimates:
- About 67,530 people (35,190 men and 32,340 women) will be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
- About 52,740 people (27,230 men and 25,510 women) will die of pancreatic cancer.
On average, 1 in 56 men and 1 in 60 women will develop pancreatic cancer in their lifetime. However, each person’s odds of getting pancreatic cancer are affected by various risk factors.
As with all cancers, the sooner the disease is detected, the better your chances are for successful treatment. For that reason, it’s important to know as much as you can about pancreatic cancer.
What Is Pancreatic Cancer and How Does the Pancreas Function?
The pancreas is a gland located deep in the abdomen. It is about 6 inches long and shaped like a pear. The wider end is called the head, the middle is called the body and the narrow wend is the tail. The gland is located between the stomach and spine and is surrounded by the stomach, small intestine, liver, spleen and gallbladder.
The two main functions of the pancreas are to help with digestion and blood sugar regulation by:
- Making the fluids that help break down food.
- Producing hormones, such as insulin and glucagon, that help control blood sugar levels.
The digestive fluids are made by exocrine pancreas cells. The hormones come from endocrine pancreas cells. About 95% of pancreatic cancers begin in exocrine cells, the ACS reports.
As with all cancers, pancreatic cancer starts when cells start to grow out of control. Pancreatic cancer is split into two main groups based on the type of cell where the tumor starts. The two types of cells – exocrine cells and neuroendocrine cells – form different types of tumors. Each has different risk factors and causes, signs and symptoms, diagnostic tests, treatments and prognoses.
Pancreatic exocrine tumors
Over 90% of cancers of the exocrine pancreas are pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas (PDAC). These are tumors that usually start in the lining of the ducts of the pancreas. It is often aggressive.
On occasion, the tumors develop from the cells that make the pancreatic enzymes. These are called acinar cell carcinomas.
There are also other, less common exocrine cancers, including adenosquamous carcinomas, squamous cell carcinomas, signet ring cell carcinomas, undifferentiated carcinomas and undifferentiated carcinomas with giant cells.
Pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors
Pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors, or pNETs, are much less common and develop in the pancreas’ hormone-producing endocrine cells.
Types of Pancreatic Cancer
Characteristic
Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma (Exocrine)
Neuroendocrine Tumors/pNETS
Prevalence
Over 90% of all pancreatic cancer cases
About 5% -8% of all pancreatic cancer cases
Origin cell type
Exocrine cells (lining of pancreatic ducts)
Neuroendocrine cells (hormone-producing islet cells)
Primary symptoms
Jaundice, abdominal/back pain, weight loss
Often asymptomatic; functional types cause low blood sugar/hormone symptoms
Progression and prognosis
Fast-growing, aggressive; 13% overall 5-year survival
Slower-growing; generally higher overall 5-year survival
Key therapies
Surgery, NALIRIFOX chemo, RAS inhibitors
Surgery, targeted Cabometyx, somatostatin analogs
Pancreatic Cancer Stages and Survival Rates
As with all cancers, pancreatic cancer is diagnosed in stages. Each stage may be further divided into substages, but in general:
- Stage 0: The cancer is confined to the top layers of pancreatic duct cells and has not invaded deeper tissues. It has not spread outside of the pancreas.
- Stage I: The cancer is confined to the pancreas and has not spread to nearby lymph nodes or distant parts of the body.
- Stage II: The cancer may have grown outside the pancreas or spread to a small number of nearby lymph nodes but has not spread to distant sites.
- Stage III: The cancer has spread more extensively to nearby lymph nodes or major blood vessels but has not spread to distant parts of the body.
- Stage IV: The cancer has spread to distant sites, such as the liver, abdominal lining, lungs or bones.
Rather than grouping survival statistics by these numbered stages, current American Cancer Society survival data use categories from the National Cancer Institute’s Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results, or SEER, program.
5-year pancreatic survival rates
Based on people diagnosed between 2015 and 2021, the five-year relative survival rates for pancreatic cancer are:
- Localized: 44% when the cancer has not spread outside the pancreas
- Regional: 17% when the cancer has spread to nearby structures or lymph nodes
- Distant: 3% when the cancer has spread to distant parts of the body
- All stages combined: 13%
Survival rates are estimates based on people who were diagnosed and treated in previous years and cannot predict what will happen for an individual patient.
Pancreatic Cancer Risk Factors and Causes
Anything that increases your chances of developing a disease is called a risk factor. Having a risk factor does not mean that you will always get the disease, and not having risk factors doesn’t mean that you won’t. Generally speaking, the risk factors for pancreatic cancer include:
- Smoking
- Having obesity or severe overweight
- Having a personal history of diabetes or chronic pancreatitis
- Having a family history of pancreatic cancer or pancreatitis
- Having certain genetic conditions, including hereditary breast or ovarian cancer caused by mutations in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes, familial atypical multiple mole melanoma syndrome, familial pancreatitis, Lynch syndrome, Peutz-Jeghers syndrome and Von Hippel-Lindau syndrome
Early Warning Signs and Symptoms of Pancreatic Cancer
What makes this disease so dangerous is that pancreatic cancer symptoms in earlier stages are often absent. Symptoms that develop later may also be caused by other conditions, making the disease harder to diagnose. It is recommended that you check with your doctor if you have any of the following symptoms that may be signs of pancreatic cancer:
- Jaundice (yellowing of the skin and whites of the eyes)
- Light-colored stools
- Dark urine
- Pain in the upper or middle abdomen and back
- Weight loss for no apparent reason
- Loss of appetite
- Feeling very tired
How Is Pancreatic Cancer Diagnosed?
To confirm pancreatic cancer, your doctor will typically perform a series of tests to detect, diagnose and stage the disease. It is important to know the stage of the disease to plan treatment and discover if the cancer can be surgically removed. The tests may include:
- Medical History and Physical Exam: Includes reviewing symptoms, risk factors and family history, along with examining for physical signs like jaundice or organ swelling
- Imaging Tests: CT scans, MRI and ultrasound to visualize the pancreas, detect tumors, evaluate spread and determine surgical options
- Cholangiopancreatography: Evaluates blocked or narrowed pancreatic and bile ducts using procedures like ERCP, non-invasive MRCP or PTC
- PET Scans: Uses a radioactive sugar tracer to identify distant cancer spread and assist with accurate cancer staging
- Blood Tests: Measures liver function, checks tumor markers (CA 19-9 and CEA) and assesses overall surgical readiness via routine bloodwork
- Biopsies: Collects tumor tissue samples to confirm a definitive diagnosis
- Lab and Biomarker Testing: Analyzes biopsy samples for specific gene mutations to guide targeted therapy options
- Genetic Counseling and Testing: Identifies inherited gene mutations in individuals or families to inform personalized treatment and assess family risk
Pancreatic Cancer Treatments and FDA-Approved Therapies
Treatment for pancreatic cancer depends on factors such as the type and stage of the cancer, whether it can be removed surgically, a patient’s overall health and certain genetic or molecular characteristics of the tumor. Treatment may involve surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, targeted therapy or a combination of approaches.
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is commonly used to treat pancreatic cancer, including cancer that has spread beyond the pancreas.
In the clinical trial supporting the approval, people receiving NALIRIFOX had a median overall survival of 11.1 months, compared with 9.2 months among those receiving gemcitabine plus nab-paclitaxel.
Targeted therapy
Targeted therapies attack specific proteins or other characteristics that help cancer cells grow.
In August 2026, the FDA approved Rasonque (daraxonrasib), the first-in-class targeted RAS inhibitor for adults with metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma who have received at least one prior systemic therapy or are not candidates for multiagent systemic therapy (a treatment combining two or more drugs that travel through the bloodstream to fight cancer throughout the body).
Daraxonrasib is a once-daily tablet that targets multiple forms of the RAS protein, a major driver of tumor growth in pancreatic adenocarcinoma.
In a clinical trial involving 500 adults with previously treated metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma, people receiving daraxonrasib had a median overall survival of 13.2 months, compared with 6.7 months for those receiving standard chemotherapy.
Other targeted treatments may be available based on the genetic characteristics of a person’s cancer. For example, the PARP inhibitor olaparib may be considered as maintenance therapy for certain patients with metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma and inherited BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations whose cancer responded to first-line platinum-based chemotherapy.
Treatment for pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors
Pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors are biologically different from the more common pancreatic adenocarcinomas and may require different treatments.
In March 2025, the FDA approved cabozantinib (Cabometyx) for adults and children ages 12 and older with previously treated, unresectable, locally advanced or metastatic, well-differentiated pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors.
Health Care Providers That Treat Cancer
Can Pancreatic Cancer Be Cured? Prognosis and Life Expectancy
After studying the results of these tests, the physician will know what kind of cancer you have, what the best treatment options are and your prognosis, or chances of making a recovery. Your prognosis depends on a number of factors:
- Whether the tumor can be removed surgically
- The size and location of the tumor
- Whether the cancer has spread to nearby tissues, lymph nodes or other places in the body, which is called metastasis
- Your overall health
- Whether the cancer is newly diagnosed or has recurred after a previous cancer diagnosis
- How the cancer responds to treatment
Pancreatic cancer remains difficult to treat, in part because it is often diagnosed after it has spread beyond the pancreas. However, treatment options have expanded in recent years, including new chemotherapy combinations and targeted therapies for some patients.
For people with advanced pancreatic cancer, treatment may help slow the cancer’s growth, relieve symptoms and maintain quality of life even when surgery is not an option.
Frequently Asked Questions About Pancreatic Cancers
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the early warning signs of pancreatic cancer?
Early-stage pancreatic cancer often causes no symptoms, but as the disease grows, common early warning signs include jaundice (yellowing of the skin and eyes), dark urine, pale or greasy stools, upper abdominal or back pain and unexplained weight loss.
How is pancreatic cancer diagnosed by doctors?
Doctors diagnose pancreatic cancer using a combination of medical history reviews, physical exams, imaging tests (such as CT scans, MRIs, and ultrasounds),and blood tests to check liver function and tumor markers like CA 19-9. A biopsy is often performed to confirm the diagnosis, along with genetic testing to identify specific gene mutations.
What are the most common treatments for pancreatic cancer?
Pancreatic cancer treatment depends on the stage, location, and genetic profile of the tumor. Common therapies include surgical removal, chemotherapy (such as the NALIRIFOX regimen), radiation and targeted therapies (such as RAS inhibitors like daraxonrasib or PARP inhibitors like olaparib for specific gene mutations).
