(HealthDay News) — The incidence of pancreatic cancer is increasing among younger women, according to a study published in Gastroenterology.
Researchers used the National Program of Cancer Registries database to report an age- and sex-specific time-trend analysis of pancreatic cancer age-adjusted incidence rates (aIR). Age-specific analyses were conducted in older (aged 55 years and older) and younger (younger than 55 years) adults with pancreatic cancer.
Data were included for 454,611 patients diagnosed with pancreatic cancer between 2001 and 2018. The researchers found that aIR increased significantly in women and men, with no difference between the increases (average annual percentage change [AAPC], 1.27% and 1.14%, respectively; P =.37). In older adults, results were similar.
Continue Reading
In younger adults, a greater increase in aIR was seen in women (AAPC, 2.36%; P <.001) than in men (AAPC, 0.62%; P =.62). This difference in AAPC seemed to be due to increasing aIR in Black people (AAPC, 2.23%; P <.001), adenocarcinoma histopathological subtype (AAPC, 0.89%; P =.003), and location in the head of pancreas (AAPC, 1.64%; P <.001).
In women, pancreatic cancer mortality was unchanged. In men, there was a decline in mortality (AAPC difference, 0.54%; P =.001).
“The exact cause of the trend among younger women is unclear and may be driven by sex-based disproportional exposure or response to known or yet-to-be explored risk factors,” the researchers wrote. “Future efforts should aim to elucidate the causes of such a trend with the goal to formulate possible preventive measures.”
Abstract/Full Text (subscription or payment may be required)
