Number of pancreatic cancer cases rises among Jews age 65 and up

This type of cancer is ranked high of the type of tumors which cause death, usually due to its tendency to being diagnosed late, meaning when it is found it is usually in an advanced stage.

By OMRI RON
Cancer illustrative (photo credit: PIXABAY)
Cancer illustrative
(photo credit: PIXABAY)
The Health Ministry reported a rise in pancreatic cancer in Jews age 65 and up in recent years.
This data was published ahead of the annual "Door Knock" fundraiser by the Israel Cancer Association, which will be held online this year due to the coronavirus restrictions.
Further data revealed that in 2017, roughly 909 people in Israel were diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, making it the seventh most common type of cancer diagnosed in 2017, as well as the fourth most common type of fatal cancer during that year in both Jewish men and women, as well as Arab women, and the third most common in Arab men.
This type of cancer is ranked high in the type of tumors which cause death, usually due to its tendency to be diagnosed late, meaning when it is found it is usually in an advanced stage, making it fatal.
Over the last 22 years, it has become an increasingly common occurrence as well as an increasingly common cause of death in Jewish men and women, though it has remained stable among Arab men and women.
Another rise, listed at one to two percent, was also reported for the first time this year regarding people who suffer from this type of cancer who are under the age of 65.
This is believed to be due to the increase in obesity and diabetes among young people, known to be a contributor to increased risk of the disease in the developed world.
Israel is placed 28th on the list of countries where pancreatic cancer is common (alongside Singapore and Lithuania) and 12th in the list of number of deaths from the disease (equal to Latvia, Germany and Japan).
"Early diagnosis of severe pancreatic cancer is difficult since its symptoms are not unique to it and quite diverse," said Professor Lital Keynan, head of the diseases control unit of the Health Ministry. "Abdominal pains, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, loss of weight, exhumation and weakness, painless jaundice, back pain and more, are all such symptoms."
"As such, a large part of patients arrive with an advanced case of the disease. Discovery at such an advanced stage leads to a prognosis which is not quite as good. The anatomical location of the pancreas is also a contributing factor.

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"Recently questions have been raised regarding the occurrence rates of this type of cancer in Israel, since many clinical workers are under the impression that the number of patients and those who die from it is rising. The data on the matter is relevant to 2017."


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