Pancreatic cancer carries a 5-year overall survival rate of 12.5 percent. Survival falls sharply by stage. Localized disease reaches 44 percent five-year survival while distant metastases drop to 3.2 percent.
Key Takeaways
- The 5-year overall survival rate for pancreatic cancer patients diagnosed in the US from 2014-2020 is 12.5%
- Localized pancreatic cancer has a 5-year survival of 44.3%
- High CA19-9 levels >1000 U/mL predict median OS 6 months
- Men have a 5-year pancreatic cancer survival rate of 11.8% vs 12.9% for women
- Neoadjuvant chemotherapy improves survival in resectable PDAC to 30 months median
Pancreatic cancer remains difficult to treat, but survival varies widely by stage at diagnosis.
Related reading
01 · Category
Overall Survival Rates20 stats
01
The 5-year overall survival rate for pancreatic cancer patients diagnosed in the US from 2014-2020 is 12.5%
02
The median overall survival for metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is 11 months with standard chemotherapy
03
1-year survival rate for all stages of pancreatic cancer is approximately 25-30%
04
The 5-year survival rate for pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (PNETs) is 53% compared to 11% for exocrine tumors
05
Overall survival at 3 years for resected pancreatic cancer is 20-25%
06
Median survival for unresectable pancreatic cancer is 6-9 months without treatment
07
5-year survival for pancreatic cancer improved from 5% in 1990s to 12% in 2020s
08
Overall survival rate at 2 years is 18% for PDAC patients
09
The 10-year overall survival for pancreatic cancer is less than 5%
10
Median overall survival for stage IV PDAC is 6.7 months with FOLFIRINOX
11
The 5-year survival rate for localized pancreatic cancer is 44%
12
Median OS for all pancreatic cancer patients is 11 months per SEER 2015-2021
13
3-year overall survival for PDAC is 15%
14
Survival for functional PNETs 5-year 65% vs non-functional 55%
15
Untreated pancreatic cancer median survival 3-6 months
16
5-year OS for cystic neoplasms resected 70-90%
17
Historical 5-year survival 6% pre-2000, now 12%
18
18-month OS rate 25% in contemporary cohorts
19
Long-term survivors >5 years 7% of PDAC cases
20
Median OS stage IV 4.6 months gemcitabine era
Interpretation
Overall Survival Rates Interpretation
Across overall survival rates, pancreatic cancer outcomes remain poor with only about a 12.5% 5-year survival in the US from 2014 to 2020, and even at key milestones survival drops sharply from around 25 to 30% at 1 year to roughly 20 to 25% at 3 years for resected cases.
02 · Category
Stage Specific Survival30 stats
01
Localized pancreatic cancer has a 5-year survival of 44.3%
02
Regional stage pancreatic cancer 5-year survival is 16.2%
03
Distant metastatic pancreatic cancer 5-year survival is 3.2%
04
Stage IA pancreatic cancer 5-year survival exceeds 60% post-resection
05
Stage IIB PDAC has median survival of 24 months after surgery
06
Stage III locally advanced pancreatic cancer median survival is 12-15 months
07
Stage IV pancreatic cancer 1-year survival is 20%
08
Resectable stage pancreatic cancer 5-year survival is 28%
09
Borderline resectable PDAC stage survival at 3 years is 35%
10
Unresectable stage III PDAC median OS is 11.1 months with chemoradiation
11
5-year survival for stage-localized PNETs is 93%
12
Stage II pancreatic adenocarcinoma 5-year survival is 15.4%
13
Stage III PDAC 2-year survival is 25%
14
Stage 0 pancreatic cancer in situ 5-year survival approaches 100%
15
Median survival for stage I resected PDAC is 32 months
16
5-year survival post-resection for stage I/II PDAC is 21%
17
Advanced stage IV PDAC 6-month survival is 50%
18
Localized exocrine pancreatic cancer 3-year survival is 50%
19
Median OS for T1N0M0 stage PDAC is 50 months
20
Whipple resection for early stage improves 5-year survival to 40%
21
Stage II survival 5-year 14.8%
22
Median survival stage III unresectable 10.8 months
23
1-year survival distant stage 18.9%
24
T2N0 stage median OS 40 months post-surgery
25
Stage IB PDAC 5-year 50%
26
Locally advanced median OS 13 months FOLFIRINOX
27
Metastatic 3-month survival 70%
28
Early stage resectable 3-year OS 40%
29
Stage IIIB 2-year survival 18%
30
AJCC 8th edition stage I 5-year 68%
Interpretation
Stage Specific Survival Interpretation
Within stage specific survival, the outlook drops sharply as the disease advances, from a 44.3% 5 year survival for localized pancreatic cancer to just 16.2% for regional disease and 3.2% for distant metastases.
03 · Category
Survival Prognostic Indicators30 stats
01
High CA19-9 levels >1000 U/mL predict median OS 6 months
02
Positive lymph node ratio >0.25 associated with HR 2.1 for death
03
KRAS mutation present in 90% PDAC worsens prognosis HR 1.4
04
Tumor size >4cm median OS 12 months vs 24 months <2cm
05
SMAD4 loss correlates with 5-year survival <5%
06
Perineural invasion present HR 1.6 for recurrence
07
High Ki-67 proliferation index >20% median OS 15 months
08
ECOG performance status 2+ median OS 4 months vs 12 months PS0
09
Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio >4 predicts poor OS HR 1.8
10
Microvascular invasion worsens 5-year survival to 10%
11
TP53 mutation HR 1.3 for mortality in resected PDAC
12
Low albumin <3.5 g/dL at diagnosis median OS 7 months
13
R1 resection margin positive 2-year survival 20% vs 50% R0
14
Elevated LDH > upper normal limit HR 1.5 for death
15
LNR >0.4 median DFS 10 months post-resection
16
BRCA2 mutation improves response but OS HR 0.9 in targeted therapy
17
Comorbid hypertension increases mortality HR 1.2
18
High Glasgow Prognostic Score 2 median OS 5 months
19
pCR after neoadjuvant HR 0.4 for death
20
Elevated CRP >10 mg/L poor prognosis HR 1.7
21
Platelet-to-lymphocyte >150 HR 1.6
22
G12D KRAS subtype median OS 14 months
23
Tumor grade 3/4 5-year 8%
24
LVI present median OS 16 months
25
CDKN2A alteration HR 1.5
26
PS 1 median OS 9 months
27
NLR >5 HR 2.2 metastatic
28
Margin <1mm 3-year 25%
29
PIK3CA mutation OS benefit with everolimus
30
Weight loss >10% at diagnosis OS 5 months
Interpretation
Survival Prognostic Indicators Interpretation
Across these survival prognostic indicators, several markers point to substantially worse outcomes, especially very high CA19-9 levels above 1000 U/mL with a median overall survival of just 6 months compared with smaller or more favorable features like tumor size under 2 cm showing a 24 month median survival.
More related reading
04 · Category
Survival By Demographics30 stats
01
Men have a 5-year pancreatic cancer survival rate of 11.8% vs 12.9% for women
02
African American patients 5-year survival 10.5% vs 13.2% for whites
03
Patients aged 65-74 have median survival of 8 months for PDAC
04
Hispanic pancreatic cancer patients 5-year survival 13.5%
05
Women under 50 have 5-year survival of 25% vs 15% for men same age
06
Asian/Pacific Islander 5-year survival 15.1% for pancreatic cancer
07
Elderly >80 years median OS 3 months for metastatic PDAC
08
Urban residents survival higher by 2% than rural in pancreatic cancer
09
Smokers have 20% lower 5-year survival than non-smokers
10
Obese patients BMI>30 median OS 7.2 months vs 9.5 months normal weight
11
Diabetic patients 5-year survival 10% lower than non-diabetics
12
Socioeconomic status low quintile survival 9% vs 14% high quintile
13
Young adults <40 years 5-year survival 20-30% post-resection
14
Male gender HR 1.15 for mortality in PDAC adjusted analysis
15
American Indian/Alaska Native 5-year survival 11.2%
16
Patients with insurance 5-year survival 13% vs 8% uninsured
17
Median survival longer by 4 months in high-volume hospitals
18
Female gender improves OS by 1.5 months median in metastatic PDAC
19
Age <65 years 2-year survival 22% vs 12% >65 years
20
Women aged 45-64 5-year survival 18%
21
Black females survival 11.1% 5-year
22
Age 45-54 median OS 12 months
23
White males 5-year 11.5%
24
Rural patients OS shorter by 1.8 months
25
Former smokers survival HR 1.2
26
BMI 25-30 median OS 8.8 months
27
New-onset diabetes within 3 years prior diagnosis worse OS
28
Lowest SES 1-year survival 22%
29
Adolescents 15-19 5-year 25%
30
Asian females 5-year 16.2%
Interpretation
Survival By Demographics Interpretation
Within survival by demographics, women generally fare better than men, with 5-year survival at 12.9% versus 11.8%, and the gap widens for those under 50 where women reach 25% compared with 15% for men, reflecting meaningful demographic differences in pancreatic cancer outcomes.
05 · Category
Survival By Treatment Modality30 stats
01
Neoadjuvant chemotherapy improves survival in resectable PDAC to 30 months median
02
FOLFIRINOX regimen yields median OS of 11.1 months in metastatic PDAC
03
Gemcitabine alone median OS 5.7 months in advanced PDAC
04
Adjuvant gemcitabine post-resection extends 5-year survival to 23.5%
05
Stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) for locally advanced PDAC median OS 19.2 months
06
Gemcitabine + nab-paclitaxel median OS 8.5 months in metastatic disease
07
Surgical resection alone 5-year survival 18-20% in PDAC
08
Chemoradiation followed by surgery improves OS to 27 months in borderline resectable
09
Immunotherapy with checkpoint inhibitors shows 1-year OS of 20% in MSI-high PDAC
10
Targeted therapy with PARP inhibitors in BRCA-mutated PDAC median OS 19.4 months
11
Palliative radiation extends survival by 2-3 months in advanced cases
12
CONKO-001 trial adjuvant chemo 5-year OS 21% vs 12% observation
13
PRODIGE-24 trial FOLFIRINOX adjuvant median DFS 21.6 months
14
Irreversible electroporation for locally advanced median OS 24 months
15
Erlotinib + gemcitabine median OS 6.24 months vs 5.91 months gem alone
16
HiPEC in peritoneal carcinomatosis median OS 14.3 months
17
Neoadjuvant FOLFIRINOX median OS 37 months in resectable PDAC
18
5-FU based chemoradiation median OS 16.5 months locally advanced
19
Adjuvant S-1 chemotherapy median OS 46.5 months Japan
20
Nanoliposomal irinotecan + 5-FU median OS 6.1 months
21
Capecitabine adjuvant 5-year OS 28%
22
Proton therapy locally advanced median OS 27 months
23
Olaparib maintenance median PFS 7.4 months BRCA
24
R0 resection 5-year 25%
25
Total neoadjuvant therapy median OS 25 months borderline
26
Pembrolizumab MSI-H median OS not reached at 2 years
27
Best supportive care median OS 2.6 months
28
mFOLFIRINOX median OS 12 months metastatic
29
ESPAC-4 trial gemcap vs gem OS 28 vs 25.5 months
30
IORT intraoperative RT median OS 21 months
Interpretation
Survival By Treatment Modality Interpretation
Across treatment modalities for pancreatic cancer, survival varies widely, ranging from about 5.7 months with gemcitabine alone in advanced disease up to roughly 30 months median with neoadjuvant chemotherapy in resectable PDAC.
report visual · Comparison
Survival varies sharply by disease type and stage
5-year survival is much higher for pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors than for exocrine tumors, and drops dramatically for metastatic disease.
The 5-year survival rate for pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (PNETs) is 53% compared to 11% for exocrine tumors53%
Regional stage pancreatic cancer 5-year survival is 16.2%
16.2%
Distant metastatic pancreatic cancer 5-year survival is 3.2%
3.2%
Reference
Cite This Report
This report is designed to be cited. We maintain stable URLs and versioned verification dates. Copy the format appropriate for your publication below.
APA
Kevin O'Brien. (2026, February 13). Pancreatic Cancer Survival Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/pancreatic-cancer-survival-statistics
MLA
Kevin O'Brien. "Pancreatic Cancer Survival Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/pancreatic-cancer-survival-statistics.
Chicago
Kevin O'Brien. 2026. "Pancreatic Cancer Survival Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/pancreatic-cancer-survival-statistics.
Sources & references
17 datasets cited across this report · attribution is report-level