Or stage 3 can mean the cancer has started to grow outside the pancreas into the major blood vessels nearby. It may or may not have spread into the lymph nodes. It hasn't spread to any other areas of the body. In TNM staging, this is the same as T4, Any N, M0. Stage 3 cancer may also be called locally advanced cancer.
Stage 3 cancer means that the cancer has spread outside your pancreas. It may have spread to the large blood vessels near the pancreas, or to a number of lymph nodes. This is usually locally advanced cancer but it may occasionally be borderline resectable cancer.
While up to 20% of patients survive without evidence of cancer five years after surgery, the majority of patients with Stage III pancreatic cancer will develop recurrence of their cancer after surgery.
Pancreatic cancer diagnosed at this stage is difficult to cure. When the cancer cannot be removed by surgery, a combination of anticancer drugs and/or radiation therapy may be given instead. A clinical trial is often recommended following surgery because these standard treatment options are not very effective.
Stage III pancreatic cancer. The tumor is any size and cancer has spread to (a) 4 or more nearby lymph nodes; or (b) the major blood vessels near the pancreas. These include the portal vein, common hepatic artery, celiac axis (trunk), and superior mesenteric artery.
Up to 10 percent of patients who receive an early diagnosis become disease-free after treatment. For patients who are diagnosed before the tumor grows much or spreads, the average pancreatic cancer survival time is 3 to 3.5 years.
The largest study to date of patients who have had surgery for chronic pancreatitis with follow-up of six years or longer has found that about two-thirds survive after 10 years.
Locally advanced pancreatic cancer
You should be offered chemotherapy, and sometimes chemoradiotherapy. This may shrink the cancer and slow down its growth. It can also help with any symptoms and help you feel better. For a small number of people, this treatment may shrink the cancer enough to make surgery possible.
But stage 3 cancer isn't a death sentence. Survival rates are improving, and researchers are continually discovering and testing new targeted drugs and immunotherapies.
Stage 3 cancer is considered advanced. In this stage, the tumor may have grown to a specific size, the cancer may consist of multiple tumors, and/or the cancer may have spread to adjacent lymph nodes, organs or tissue.
Stage 4 pancreatic cancer is not always called terminal. While the cancer is at an advance or late stage, some people do live longer than a few months with it.
Given the importance of the pancreas as an organ, you might think living without one is impossible – like trying to live without a heart. But you can in fact live without a pancreas.
First, pancreatic cancer cells are particularly aggressive. They accumulate and form tumors and spread to nearby organs at a rapid pace.
Survival for all stages of pancreatic cancer
more than 5 out of every 100 (more than 5%) survive their cancer for 5 years or more. it is estimated that only 5 out of every 100 (5%) will survive their cancer for 10 years or more after diagnosis.
Pancreatic cancer has the highest mortality rate of all major cancers. It is currently the 3rd leading cause of cancer-related death in the United States after lung and colon.
The current 5-year survival rates for stage 3 breast cancer are 86% for females and 83% for males. However, many factors can influence a person's life expectancy after a breast cancer diagnosis. A doctor can provide more detailed, personalized information.
Patients with stage three pancreatic cancer may survive six to eleven months, on average.
The median overall survival of metastatic pancreatic cancer is 8–11 months and the median overall survival of locally advanced (but not metastatic) inoperable pancreatic cancer is 12–14 months [3, 4].
Prognosis in chronic pancreatitis
The overall 10-year and 20-year survival rates are estimated to be about 70% and 45%, respectively. For some people, a diagnosis of chronic pancreatitis can mean a lifetime of pain and gastrointestinal symptoms.
Up to 80% of chronic pancreatitis patients will live at least ten years past their diagnosis.
Chronic pancreatitis can have serious and long-lasting effects. But with lifestyle changes and effective treatments, patients with this condition can reduce their pain and live a more normal life.