Overall survival and treatment modalities in pancreatic adenocarcinoma: a retrospective analysis of a single centre in Western Australia

Background: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) has a 5-year survival rate of approximately 10.7% in Australia. It is becoming an increasingly common cause of cancer mortality. The therapeutic model for PDAC remains limited, especially for those with metastatic disease on presentation.

Methods: We completed a retrospective cohort study including all patients with PDAC presenting between April 2008 and October 2021 to St. John of God Subiaco Hospital in Western Australia. Overall survival (OS) was calculated via Kaplan-Meier method.

Results: We identified 251 patients treated for PDAC. Of these, 134 patients (53%) had resectable, borderline resectable or locally advanced (LA) disease at diagnosis and 117 patients (47%) had metastatic disease. The median age of all patients was 66 years (range, 25–87 years). OS in PDAC was 26 months [95% confidence interval (CI): 23–30]. In the non-metastatic group OS was 34 months (95% CI: 30–39). In the metastatic group OS was 19 months (95% CI: 14–22). Treatment modalities varied between patients. Overall 123 patients were treated with chemotherapy alone, 55 patients had chemoradiotherapy, 34 patients had chemotherapy and surgery and 37 had tri-modality treatment including chemotherapy, surgery and radiotherapy. Two patients received cyberknife radiation alone.

Conclusions: This retrospective study shows a significant prolonged survival for PDAC patients. Further studies are needed to validate second- and third-line regimens in PDAC.