An ecological study of the incidence and mortality rates of pancreatic cancer in 2020: exploring gender disparities worldwide

Abstract

Introduction: Pancreatic cancer is a highly mortal disease that used to be rare but its incidence rate has increased in the last few decades. Despite declining overall cancer incidence and mortality rates in developed countries, pancreatic cancer tends to increase in both incidence and mortality. Previous studies showed a male predominance in pancreatic cancer in patients older than 35. However, considering the sudden rise in incidence in young females, a new survey is crucial to address the current pattern of pancreatic cancer distribution between males and females. Hormonal factors may play a role in the pathogenesis of pancreatic cancer. Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the role of gender differences in mortality and incidence of pancreatic cancer in an ecological study based on data extracted from the GLOBOCAN project in 2020. Patients and Methods: An ecological study was carried out to assess gender disparity in pancreatic cancer incidence and mortality rates. The data used in the study were obtained from the Global Cancer (GLOBOCAN) project of the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2020 (https://gco.iarc.fr/). Results: The pancreatic cancer mortality rate worldwide (2020) was estimated at 466,003 cases, encompassing 246,840 cases (52.96%) among males and 219,163 cases (47.04%) among females. The study found that although there were differences in the mean pancreatic cancer incidence and mortality rates between males and females when measured by indicators such as number, ASR, and crude rate, these differences were not statistically significant. Conclusion: In conclusion, the pancreatic cancer incidence and mortality rate is increasing worldwide. In spite of the fact that men die from pancreatic cancer at a higher rate than women, there is no statistically significant difference between the two. Registration: The study protocol was registered on the Research Registry website with the unique identification number (UIN) researchregistry9598.