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In recent years, the number of pancreatic cancer cases among Israelis under the age of 65 has increased

Ahead of the 'Knock on the Door' operation, the Cancer Society in collaboration with the Ministry of Health are publishing the updated data regarding the state of pancreatic cancer in Israel * In two new interesting studies it was found that a high proportion of cancer patients suffer from mental stress due to the corona virus, with a high probability of post-traumatic stress disorder and that walking a lot may reduce the risk of dying from cancer and other diseases


Pancreatic cancer. Illustration: Illustration: depositphotos.com
Pancreatic cancer. Illustration: Illustration: depositphotos.com


Ahead of the 'Knock on the Door' operation, which will take place today in a daily format, the Cancer Society and the Ministry of Health are publishing the updated data regarding the state of pancreatic cancer in Israel.

Prof. Little Kinan Booker, director of the Center for Disease Control at the Ministry of Health: "Early diagnosis of pancreatic cancer is difficult because the symptoms of the disease are not unique to it and are very diverse, for example, abdominal discomfort, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, weight loss, fatigue and weakness, painless jaundice, back pain and more. Because of this, a large part of the patients arrive at a diagnosis with an advanced disease. Discovery in advanced disease stages often involves a worse prognosis. The anatomical location of the pancreas also contributes to this. Recently, questions have been raised about the incidence rates of pancreatic cancer in Israel, since there is an impression among clinicians that the number of patients and those who die from the disease is increasing. In the current update, we will present data relevant to this issue until 2017."

The data from the Ministry of Health's National Cancer Registry shows that:

  • In *2017, 909 people who were diagnosed with invasive cancer of the pancreas lived in Israel.
  • Pancreatic cancer is the seventh most common invasive cancer in terms of the number of new cases diagnosed in Israel in 2017,
  • In this year, pancreatic cancer was the fourth most common cause of death from cancer in Jewish and other men and women, and in Arab women. In Arab men, invasive cancer of the pancreas was the third most common.
  • Pancreatic cancer is high on the list of tumors that cause mortality, among other things due to the tendency for late diagnosis, and therefore also in an advanced stage, of the tumor, and the low survival rate.
  • The relative survival rate for pancreatic cancer is the lowest of all major cancers.
  • In the last 22 years, the incidence rate (the rate of newly diagnosed cases) and the death rate from the disease have risen significantly among Jews and others, while among Arab men and women the incidence has remained stable.
  • A moderate increase (2-1% per year) was also observed among Jews under the age of 65, (which is officially reported here for the first time). A possible explanation for this could be an increase in obesity and diabetes, known risk factors for the disease, even among young people. These data are similar to reports in other countries in the world that have a high human development index (an index that consists of life expectancy, education and gross national income for the country).
  • In the US, it is expected that in 30-20 years, pancreatic cancer will be the second leading cause of cancer deaths. Despite the development of innovative treatments, survival from pancreatic cancer, even when it is diagnosed at a relatively early stage, remains low.
  • According to data from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), Israel ranks 28th in the incidence of pancreatic cancer (with a rate equal to that of Lithuania and Singapore) and 12th in mortality from the disease (with a rate equal to that of Latvia, Germany and Japan).

*Due to the complexity of the collection, the newest information in the National Cancer Registry refers to 2017, and is the most recent today.

In the past year, awareness of pancreatic cancer has increased mainly due to the personal exposure of the late Mirit Harari, who recently passed away from the disease.

Prof. Little Kinan Booker, director of the Center for Disease Control at the Ministry of Health: "Early diagnosis of pancreatic cancer is difficult because the symptoms of the disease are not unique to it and are very diverse, for example, abdominal discomfort, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, weight loss, fatigue and weakness, painless jaundice, back pain and more. Because of this, a large part of the patients arrive at a diagnosis with an advanced disease. Discovery in advanced disease stages often involves a worse prognosis. The anatomical location of the pancreas also contributes to this. Recently, questions have been raised about the incidence rates of pancreatic cancer in Israel, since there is an impression among clinicians that the number of patients and those who die from the disease is increasing. In the current update, we will present data relevant to this issue until 2017."

The data from the Ministry of Health's National Cancer Registry shows that:

  • In *2017, 909 people who were diagnosed with invasive cancer of the pancreas lived in Israel.
  • Pancreatic cancer is the seventh most common invasive cancer in terms of the number of new cases diagnosed in Israel in 2017,
  • In this year, pancreatic cancer was the fourth most common cause of death from cancer in Jewish and other men and women, and in Arab women. In Arab men, invasive cancer of the pancreas was the third most common.
  • Pancreatic cancer is high on the list of tumors that cause mortality, among other things due to the tendency for late diagnosis, and therefore also in an advanced stage, of the tumor, and the low survival rate.
  • The relative survival rate for pancreatic cancer is the lowest of all major cancers.
  • In the last 22 years, the incidence rate (the rate of newly diagnosed cases) and the death rate from the disease have risen significantly among Jews and others, while among Arab men and women the incidence has remained stable.
  • A moderate increase (2-1% per year) was also observed among Jews under the age of 65, (which is officially reported here for the first time). A possible explanation for this could be an increase in obesity and diabetes, known risk factors for the disease, even among young people. These data are similar to reports in other countries in the world that have a high human development index (an index that consists of life expectancy, education and gross national income for the country).
  • In the US, it is expected that in 30-20 years, pancreatic cancer will be the second leading cause of cancer deaths. Despite the development of innovative treatments, survival from pancreatic cancer, even when it is diagnosed at a relatively early stage, remains low.
  • According to data from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), Israel ranks 28th in the incidence of pancreatic cancer (with a rate equal to that of Lithuania and Singapore) and 12th in mortality from the disease (with a rate equal to that of Latvia, Germany and Japan).

*Due to the complexity of the collection, the newest information in the National Cancer Registry refers to 2017, and is the most recent today.

In the past year, awareness of pancreatic cancer has increased mainly due to the personal exposure of the late Mirit Harari, who recently passed away from the disease.

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One response

  1. Hello. My wife suffered from itching all over her body
    And the doctor told her it was stress during the Corona period and prescribed her pills to relax and ointments for the skin. She didn't pay attention to the jaundice and the weakness and on our smart initiative to a hospital and there we got the news
    We are today after two surgeries and feeling good. Thanks to Andre Kidder
    Masuta Ashdod

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