Incidence and mortality of pancreatic cancer in the Republic of Tajikistan

Objective: to assess the incidence and mortality of pancreatic cancer in the Republic of Tajikistan for the period 2018–2024. Materials and methods: a total of 646 newly registered cases of pancreatic cancer were studied at the Center for Medical Statistics and Information of the Ministry of Health and Social Protection of the Population of the Republic of Tajikistan from 2018 to 2024. The prevalence of incidence and mortality was analyzed by sex, age, and stage. To assess mortality from pancreatic cancer, cases of death among patients recorded at the end of the previous year were studied. Results: it was found that the number of patients with pancreatic cancer has been increasing annually, both among men and women. Among all newly diagnosed malignant neoplasms, pancreatic cancer accounted for 2.0–2.8%. Men (53%) were affected slightly more often than women (47%). The highest incidence was observed in the 55–64 age group, accounting for 39.9%. In both sexes, pancreatic cancer was diagnosed in 73.1% of cases among patients older than 55 years. Analysis of stage distribution in Tajikistan showed that stages I–II were identified in 55.7% of patients, stage III in 14.4%, and stage IV in 29.1%. In the overall cancer mortality structure of the population, mortality from pancreatic cancer during 2018–2024 ranged between 2.22–3.76%. Among patients registered at the beginning of the reporting year, 19.3–51.5% died within the same year. Conclusions: in the Republic of Tajikistan, the incidence and mortality of pancreatic cancer continue to show a high growth rate. Men are affected slightly more often than women (53% vs. 47%), although gender differences are minor (ratio 1.1:1). The highest incidence was observed in patients over 55 years of age (73.1% of all cases). Unlike international data, in Tajikistan more than half of the cases (55.7%) were diagnosed at stages I–II, which may be related to specific features of statistical recording and staging. Mortality from pancreatic cancer in the overall structure of malignant neoplasms in the country ranged from 2.22% to 3.76%, while the annual lethality among registered patients reached 19.3–51.5%.

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