Background: Pancreatic carcinoma is an uncommon tumor with a high mortality rate. Because of the late presentation of
the disease, only a small percent of patients are candidate for surgery. Aim: To assess the epidemiology and the clinical outcome of patients diagnosed with pancreatic adenocarcinoma presented to the Clinical Oncology Department at Menoufia University. Methods: All patients presenting with exocrine pancreatic carcinoma from January 2007 to December 2011 were included. Epidemiological features of patients and their treatment details and outcome were collected retrospectively from the medical records. An equal number of matched controls were interviewed and filled a  uestionnaire to identify possible risk factors. Results: Exocrine pancreatic adenocarcinoma represented 1.4 % of all cancer patients treated at our institution. The study included 76 patients and 76 controls. Pancreatic cancer patients were significantly more likely to be overweight when compared to controls (OR= 2.51, 95%CI: 1.04-6.06). Diabetes mellitus and smoking were significantly more prevalent among patients (OR= 2.36, 95%CI: 1.23-4.54; OR= 2, 95%CI: 1.05-3.81; respectively). The median time to progression was 12 weeks (95%CI: 9.46-14.53) and the median overall survival was 16 weeks (95%CI: 12.22-19.78). Patients with earlier tumor stage and those who underwent surgery followed by adjuvant chemotherapy had significantly better overall survival (p=0.02 and <0.001, respectively).
Conclusion: Exocrine pancreatic adenocarcinoma is an uncommon tumor among cancer patients treated at the Clinical
Oncology Department of Menoufia University. Diabetes mellitus, higher body mass index and smoking are significantly
more prevalent in pancreatic carcinoma patients. Earlier tumor stage and undergoing surgery followed by chemotherapy are associated with statistically significant better overall survival.