November is Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month
JOIN WITH THE AACR TO FIND BETTER WAYS TO PREVENT AND TREAT PANCREATIC CANCER
Pancreatic cancer begins in the cells of the pancreas—an organ in the abdomen that lies behind the lower part of the stomach. The pancreas has two main functions. It makes enzymes that help with digestion, and it makes hormones, such as insulin, that control how our bodies store and use glucose—sugar that is the body’s main source of energy.
There are two forms of pancreatic cancer: exocrine pancreatic cancer, which accounts for approximately 95% of all cases, and endocrine or pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors, also called islet cell tumors.
Smoking, being overweight, having diabetes, chronic pancreatitis, and certain hereditary conditions are risk factors for pancreatic cancer.
The National Cancer Institute estimates that 67,440 people are expected to be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in the United States in 2025. Approximately 51,980 deaths are expected to occur. Pancreatic cancer is the third leading cause of cancer death in the United States.
Moreover, pancreatic cancer is projected to become the second leading cause of cancer-related death in the United States by 2030, behind lung cancer. This is according to data published in Cancer Research, a journal of the AACR.
An Expert’s View
Pancreatic cancer has a five-year survival ratio of 13.3%. What makes it so lethal? An expert explains: Giving Voice to Pancreatic Cancer Patients.
One person’s story
When Bob Fortin was told his pancreatic cancer had returned and metastasized, his doctor gave him 10 months to live. But after seeking a second opinion, he learned his tumor had a rare genetic mutation and he was eligible for a clinical trial investigating a promising drug targeting that mutation. “This drug did not just stabilize the cancer. It gave me back my life,” he says. Read his story in the AACR Cancer Progress Report 2025.
mORE ON PANCREATIC CANCER
New research has found vaccines may help trigger the immune system to fight pancreatic cancer. Read more in Cancer Today magazine.
Researchers are also seeing promising early clinical trial results for targeted therapies for pancreatic cancer. Learn more on the AACR’s blog Cancer Research Catalyst.
A study found that many patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma learn after surgery that their cancer is more advanced than their initial diagnosis. Read more about the study and recommendations for patients in Cancer Today.
Cachexia is a condition that often accompanies pancreatic cancer in which patients experience rapid weight loss and deterioration of muscle tissue. While interventions for cancer cachexia are limited, researchers point to a few clinical trials that may lead to potential treatments. Learn more on Cancer Research Catalyst.
What the AACR is Doing in Pancreatic Cancer Research
Major Conference
The AACR will hold a Special Conference in Cancer Research on Pancreatic Cancer, September 25-28, 2026, in San Diego. The conference is held annually to explore the latest developments in pancreatic cancer research, spanning basic, translational, and clinical research areas.
At the 2025 conference, Frank McCormick, PhD, FAACR, received the inaugural Stephenson Global Prize that recognizes achievements in pancreatic cancer research. Read about how his research on RAS genes laid the foundation for new therapeutics and his new pursuit of therapies to prevent KRAS-driven cancers on Cancer Research Catalyst.
Supporting Research
Pancreatic cancer is an important area of research for the AACR and its partners. Learn more about grant-supported research projects:
- The Lustgarten Foundation-AACR Career Development Awards for Pancreatic Cancer Research include two awards, one in honor of Ruth Bader Ginsburg and the other in honor of John Robert Lewis. In 2025, the recipients were Anupriya Singhal, MD, PhD, of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and Vincent Bernard Pagan, MD, PhD, of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Singhal’s work is “Interrogating vulnerabilities of a KRAS inhibitor-resistant cell state in pancreatic cancer,” and Pagan’s is “Targeting oncogenic metabolic adaptations to overcome therapy resistance in pancreatic cancer.”
- In 2024, Christina Demetriadou, PhD, of the University of Pennsylvania, received the AACR Anna D. Barker Basic Cancer Research Fellowship for her project entitled “Unveiling nuclear branched-chain amino acid metabolism in pancreatic cancer.”
- In 2024, Renato Ostuni, PhD, of the San Raffaele Telethon Institute for Gene Therapy in Milan, Italy, was awarded the Lustgarten Foundation-Swim Across America-AACR Pancreatic Cancer Early Detection Research Grant. His project is “Targeting the PGE2-IL-1b axis for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma diagnosis and early treatment.”
FOR MORE INFORMATION
For more information, please see our page on pancreatic cancer, which includes information on treatment and the different types of the disease.
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