Japan 5-Year Pancreatic Cancer Survival Rate at 10.2-10.7 Percent

From Jiji

November 19 2025

TOKYO – The five-year survival rate for male and female patients in Japan who were diagnosed with pancreatic cancer between 2012 and 2015 came to 10.7 pct and 10.2 pct, respectively, the lowest among all cancer types except for childhood cancers, the National Cancer Center said in a survey report on Tuesday. 
   By cancer type, for men, the five-year survival rate was the highest at 94.3 pct for prostate cancer, followed by 90.9 pct for skin cancer and 88.6 pct for thyroid cancer.
   For women, the rate was 92.7 pct for thyroid cancer, 92.4 pct for skin cancer and 88.7 pct for breast cancer.
   The latest survey covered some 2.54 million patients, using data from 44 prefectures that met international standards. The areas and the number of cases surveyed increased from the previous survey, which covered some 590,000 patients diagnosed in 2009-2011 in 22 prefectures.
   Survival rates also varied significantly by stage. In the combined analysis for men and women without metastasis, the five-year survival rate stood at 92.4 pct for stomach cancer and 92.3 pct for colorectal cancer. Conversely, the rates declined when metastasis occurred to distant organs, to 6.3 pct for stomach cancer and 16.8 pct for colorectal cancer.