ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Oncol.
Sec. Cancer Epidemiology and Prevention
This article is part of the Research TopicEarly-Onset Cancers: Implications of Epidemiological Trends and Underlying CausesView all articles
Shifting Epidemiology of Pancreatic Cancer in Southeast Spain (1983-2018): Emerging Patterns in Younger Women and Neuroendocrine Neoplasms
Provisionally accepted
Sandra M Colorado-Yohar1,2,3,4*
Mónica Ballesta-Ruiz1,3,5Ricardo Vaamonde-Martin1,2,3
Diego Salmerón2,3,5
Javier Corral3,5,6,7
Rafael Marcos-Gragera2,8,9María Dolores Chirlaque1,2,3,5- 1Department of Epidemiology, Murcia Regional Health Council, 30008, Murcia, Spain
- 2CIBER Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), 28029, Madrid, Spain
- 3Biomedical Research Institute of Murcia (IMIB), 30120, Murcia, Spain
- 4Research Group on Demography and Health, National Faculty of Public Health, University of Antioquia, Medellín, Colombia
- 5University of Murcia, 30100, Murcia, Spain
- 6Servicio de Hematología y Oncología Médica, Centro Regional de Hemodonación. Hospital Universitario Morales Meseguer, 30008, Murcia, Spain
- 7CIBER Enfermedades Raras. 28029, Madrid, Spain
- 8Descriptive Epidemiology, Genetics and Cancer Prevention Research Group, Biomedical Research Institute (IdiBGi), Girona, Spain
- 9Epidemiology Unit and Girona Cancer Registry, Oncology Coordination Plan, Department of Health Government of Catalonia, Catalan Institute of Oncology, Girona, Spain
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ABSTRACT Background: Pancreatic cancer (PC) is among the most lethal cancers, with increasing incidence and poor survival worldwide. We examined population-based PC incidence and survival trends in the Spanish region of Murcia during 1983-2018. Methods: Population-based registry data were obtained. All primary invasive PC cases from 1983– 2018 were included and classified as pancreatic neuroendocrine neoplasm (pNENs), non-pNENs and non-histologically-confirmed tumors. Age-specific and age-standardized incidence rates per 100,000 person-years (py) were calculated. Annual percentage changes (APCs) were estimated via joinpoint regression. Age-standardized net survival was calculated using the Pohar-Perme method. All results were stratified by sex, age, histological group and period. Results: In total, 3819 patients were diagnosed. The incidence rates in men increased from 11.2/100,000 py (1983–1988) to 21.8/100,000 py (2013–2018), and those in women increased from 7.2 to 15.2/100,000 py. The APC was more pronounced in women aged 15-44 years (APC=+5.2%, 95% CI=1.5, 9.0) than in men (APC=+0.5, 95% CI=-1.5, 2.5). Among all confirmed cases, 93.3% were non-pNENs (APC=5.4%, 95% CI=4.9, 6.2), and 6.7% were pNENs (APC=8.3%, 95% CI=6.3, 13.6). Five-year survival rates were 5.1% (95% CI=3.3, 7.0) in the 1990s and 11.4% (95% CI=2.7, 13.1) in the 2010s (non-pNEN patients=7.4%, pNEN patients=57.5%). Conclusions: PC incidence increased in the Spanish region of Murcia, particularly among younger women and pNEN patients. Survival improved, doubling from the 1990s to the 2010s. These findings highlight the need to develop preventive strategies targeting high-risk populations, especially young women, while improving early PC diagnosis to continue increasing PC survival rates.
Keywords: Incidence, Pancreatic Cancer, Pancreatic neuroendocrine neoplasm, Spain, Survival population-based
Received: 01 Oct 2025; Accepted: 23 Jan 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 Colorado-Yohar, Ballesta-Ruiz, Vaamonde-Martin, Salmerón, Corral, Marcos-Gragera and Chirlaque. 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: Sandra M Colorado-Yohar
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