The Distributional Characteristic and Growing Trend of Pancreatic Cancer in China.

Pancreatic cancer is a malignant tumor with difficulty in diagnosis and treatment and was the sixth leading cause of cancer death among both men and women in China. The 5-year relative survivals of pancreatic cancer were only 7.2% in China and the lowest level in all cancers. The proportion of estimated new cases of pancreatic cancer in China was comparatively high in East China, Northeast, North China, and Northwest and relatively low in Central China, Southwest, and South China, showing obvious regional characteristics. It implies that the incidence and mortality in the eastern region are significantly higher than those in the western region, which is consistent with the result that the incidence and mortality increased from low to middle to high urbanization areas in China, and the prevalence of diabetes increased from underdeveloped to intermediately developed to developed region.