Annette Fetty-Santilli, Pancreatic Cancer Action Network’s Community Partner for West Virginia, is excited to announce that the five-year survival rate for pancreatic cancer has increased from 10% to 11% according to the
American Cancer Society’s Cancer Facts & Figures released in early January 2022. This means that 622 more loved ones will make it to five years after their pancreatic cancer diagnosis. However, much more work needs to be done.
Ms. Santilli says, “This is such an important and significant milestone for pancreatic cancer. When I first started volunteering with PanCAN, the five-year survival rate was only 6%. Even though this is such a great accomplishment, we must continue to work to raise the survival rate even more.” She lost her brother Jim Fetty in 2007 to this horrible cancer. Jim was diagnosed just 18 months earlier and passed away at the age of 38.
Julie Fleshman JD, MBA, “CEO of PanCAN says, “A five-year survival rate of 11%, and the increase of five percentage points over the last decade, tell us that our efforts are working,” she says. “PanCAN’s initiatives are more important than ever to improve outcomes for pancreatic cancer patients.”
Despite the promising trend in five-year survival, the Facts & Figures report also reveals that more people than ever before will be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. In 2022, an estimated 62,210 Americans will be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. According to the report, while pancreatic cancer is currently the 10th most commonly diagnosed cancer in the United States, it remains the third-leading cause of cancer-related deaths. Pancreatic cancer remains on track to become the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths before 2030. Approximately 49,830 Americans are expected to die from the disease in 2022, including over 350 in West Virginia.
Since its founding in 1999, PanCAN has taken a comprehensive approach to creating a world in which all pancreatic cancer patients thrive. “From our research and clinical initiatives to our innovative programs for patients, our donors continue to fuel progress on all fronts,” says Fleshman.
PanCAN’s Know Your Tumor® precision medicine service is one example of a program improving outcomes. Launched in 2014, the service matches patients with treatment options tailored to their tumor’s biology. This approach pays dividends: Research has shown that patients who go on therapy that matches their biological characteristics live longer. PanCAN is also working to improve survival rates through its large-scale research initiatives like PanCAN Precision PromiseSM, a clinical trial designed to accelerate progress for new treatment options, and PanCAN Early Detection Initiative, aiming to find an early detection strategy for the disease.
Treatment advances are also made possible by patients participating in clinical trials. PanCAN strongly recommends clinical trials at diagnosis and during every treatment decision – throughout January, which is Pancreatic Cancer Clinical Trials Awareness Month – and year-round.
Dr. Brian Boone, a pancreatic surgeon and researcher at West Virginia University is encouraged by recent progress, but knows we need to do much better. “It is great to see continued progress in the survival rate for pancreatic cancer, which has come about as a result of research that improves our understanding of the biology of this cancer, resulting in earlier detection and development of better treatments,” said Dr. Boone. “The improvement in survival in recent years reaffirms how critically important research is to saving lives from this disease.”
Dr. Boone and colleagues at WVU are doing their part by exploring new treatments in the laboratory and translating these to patients through investigator led clinical trials. “We are always striving to provide better treatments for our patients and move the field forward”, said Dr. Boone. “This research is only possible through continued efforts to increase awareness, advocacy and funding for this devastating disease and that is why organizations like PanCAN are vital to this mission.”
For more information about pancreatic cancer or the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, persons may refer to www.pancan.org or West Virginia’s Facebook Group Page: West Virginia – Pancreatic Cancer Action Network. Persons can also connect Annette Fetty-Santilli at 304-621-3648 or asantilli@pancanvolunteer.org .
ANCREATIC