Unlike the other major causes of cancer mortality, pancreatic cancer is increasing in both incidence and number of deaths each year. Despite improvements in early detection and therapy that have greatly improved outcomes in other cancers, the five-year survival rate remains less than 8 percent for people diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. It’s on a course to become the second largest cause of cancer death within five to ten years – ahead of colorectal, breast, prostate and liver tumors.
How can we reduce the risk of pancreatic cancer? What can we do to improve survival? OHSU’s Brett Sheppard, M.D., a professor of surgery in the School of Medicine and member of the Knight Cancer Institute will address these questions in a Marquam Hill Lecture on November 17.
Pancreatic Cancer: America’s No. 2 Cancer Killer
Marquam Hill Lecture with Brett Sheppard, M.D.
Thursday, November 17, 7 p.m.
Collaborative Life Sciences Building
Sheppard and colleagues in the Brenden-Colson Center for Pancreatic Care have created a patient-centric hub for clinical and research programs that focus on three main areas: early detection, advanced therapy and quality of life. Sheppard, who is co-director of the Brenden-Colson Center, also created the Oregon Pancreatic Tissue Registry – giving patients an opportunity to participate in a long-term research registry with a special focus on the hereditary causes of pancreatic tumors.
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Figure: Projecting Cancer Incidence and Deaths to 2030: The Unexpected Burden of Thyroid, Liver, and Pancreas Cancers in the United States, by Lola Rahib, Benjamin D. Smith, Rhonda Aizenberg, Allison B. Rosenzweig, Julie M. Fleshman and Lynn M. Matrisian. Cancer Research (2014)
