The Current Status of Pancreatic Cancer in Tunisia

Background: Few studies have investigated pancreatic cancer in Tunisia and there are no reported survival data. The aim of this study was to analyze the epidemiologic profile, treatment modalities, and survival and prognostic factors of patients with pancreatic cancer in Tunisia. Method: In this retrospective study, we included patients treated between 2001 and 2016 for a histologically proven pancreatic cancer in the Department of Medical Oncology in Tunisia. Results: We examined 130 patients with a median age of 58.7 years and a sex ratio of 1.8. Thirty percent had surgery for a localized disease. Among resected patients, 14% received adjuvant chemotherapy. 14.5% of the patients with borderline resectable tumors underwent induction chemotherapy without leading to surgery. Palliative chemotherapy was administrated for unresectable locally advanced (14%) and metastatic (41.5%) tumors. Median overall survival for localized, locally advanced, and metastatic disease was 20.5, 10.4, and 6.3 months, respectively. Independent prognostic factors were female gender, performance status, tumor localization, and chemotherapy. Conclusions: Unlike what was published in the literature, patients in our study were younger and there was a male predominance. Survival rates were low even for localized stages. Treatment strategy, chemotherapy protocols, survival, and prognostic factors were in line with the literature.