Mortality trends of pancreatic cancer: an affluent type of cancer in Taiwan.

Interest in the increasing trends in pancreatic cancer mortality in Taiwan has recently emerged. The mortality data for pancreatic cancer in Taiwan from 1971 to 1988 for both sexes are presented to cast some light on the etiology of this ominous and yet little-known disease. A steeply increasing trend was found between 1975 and 1984 for both sexes; it dropped in 1985-86 and climbed again in 1987-88. The urban excess risks persisted in our study period of 18 years. Further study is mandatory to elucidate the etiological implications of dietary and other lifestyle changes on the magnitude of these rising secular trends and urban-rural gradients, particularly in the elderly, as well as the puzzling finding of cross-sectional drops in mortalities between 1985 and 1986. It is speculated that the drop may be associated with an economic recession that occurred in Taiwan between 1980 and 1981.