ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Oncol.
Sec. Gastrointestinal Cancers: Hepato Pancreatic Biliary Cancers
Volume 15 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fonc.2025.1671856
This article is part of the Research TopicCancer Epidemiology: Patterns, Causes, and Therapeutic AdvancementsView all 5 articles
Global, regional, and national burden and trends of pancreatic cancer, 1990-2021: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021
Provisionally accepted
- 1No 2 People's Hospital of Fuyang City, Fuyang, China
- 2The second people's hospital of Fuyang city, Fuyang, China
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1 Background: To evaluate temporal trends, associated risk factors, and cross-national 2 inequalities in the distribution of pancreatic cancer from 1990 to 2021. 3 Methods: Temporal trends were measured using the average annual percent change and 4 annual percent change. A comparative risk assessment framework was employed to 5 estimate the proportion of disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) attributable to specific 6 risk factors for pancreatic cancer. In addition, the unequal distribution of the global 7 burden of pancreatic cancer was quantified using the inequality slope index and the 8 concentration index, as recommended by the World Health Organization. 9 Results: From 1990 to 2021, the global incidence, prevalence, mortality and DALYs 10 associated with pancreatic cancer have increased in both absolute numbers and age-11 standardized rates. At the regional level, Central Asia recorded the highest values for 12 all four indicators, while Western Sub-Saharan Africa experienced the most pronounced 13 escalation in disease burden. Notably, the burden of pancreatic cancer was consistently 14 higher in males than in females throughout the study period. Cross-national inequalities 15 analysis reveals that disparities in pancreatic cancer burden are concentrated in 16 countries with relatively higher socio-demographic index. To date, the high fasting 17 plasma glucose remained the major risk factor that influenced the DALYs of pancreatic 18 cancer, followed by smoking and high body mass index. 19 Conclusion: The global burden of pancreatic cancer is rising, particularly among males 20 and in high-income regions. This trend highlights the urgent need for targeted 21 prevention strategies and improved management of modifiable risk factors, with a 22 specific focus on these high-risk populations.
Keywords: Pancreatic Cancer, burden trends, Global bBurden of dDisease, risk factor, Cross-national inequalities
Received: 23 Jul 2025; Accepted: 20 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Liu, Liu, Niu, Wu and Jiangtao. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Jiangtao Jiangtao, hzxtd1701@163.com
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