Prabin Bikram Thapa

Epidemiology of Pancreatic and Periampullary Cancer

Pancreatic cancer is an important public health problem, although infrequent but with an exceptionally high mortality rate worldwide. Given that the majority of cancers occur in association with smoking, diabetes, pancreatitis, genetic factors, and others and with a growing population worldwide in mind, more cases would be expected in the near future giving further impetus to investigating prevention and treatment strategies to this international issue. The representative data on epidemiology of carcinoma of pancreas in India and Nepal are very poor. While there are many questions to be resolved, it is apparent that many facets of pancreatic cancer are becoming increasingly understood, and prospects for prevention are becoming apparent. Hence, screening research, recommendations, and implementation is an obvious priority. Although previous studies have contributed to the knowledge of carcinoma of pancreas epidemiology, such association needs to be further verified with proper epidemiological work. A new and global approach to the study of carcinoma of pancreas epidemiology is required if the disease prevention and treatment strategies are to be adequately directed and supported in the coming years. The collection and analysis of epidemiologic carcinoma of pancreas data will play a critical role in guiding future disease prevention strategies and optimizing patient management.