Characteristics, Prognosis and Reasons for Opting-Out of Treatment in Patients with Untreated Pancreatic Cancer
Simple Summary
Abstract
1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
3. Results
3.1. Completeness of the DPCD Database in the North Denmark Region
3.2. Characteristics of Untreated Patients
3.3. Reasons for No Treatment
4. Discussion
5. Conclusions
Supplementary Materials
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
Abbreviations
References
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| All Clinical Stages n = 91 | Stage I–II n = 20 | Stage III n = 24 | Stage IV n = 47 | p-Value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age in years, mean (±SD) | 78.1 (±9.3) | 82.3 (±6.5) | 81.4 (±6.6) | 74.7 (±10.3) | p = 0.001 |
| Sex, n (%); male/female | 50 (55)/41 (45) | 9 (45)/11 (55) | 10 (42)/14 (58) | 22 (47)/25 (53) | p = 0.96 |
| BMI, mean (±SD) | 23.8 (±4.9) | 23.0 (±4.6) | 23.6 (±5.0) | 24.6 (±4.9) | p = 0.45 |
| ECOG PS, n (%) | p = 0.052 | ||||
| 1 | 6 (7) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 6 (13) | |
| 2 | 23 (25) | 8 (40) | 9 (38) | 6 (13) | |
| 3 | 42 (46) | 9 (45) | 9 (38) | 24 (51) | |
| 4 | 20 (22) | 3 (15) | 6 (25) | 11 (23) | |
| ASA score, n (%) | p = 0.49 | ||||
| 2 | 7 (7) | 2 (10) | 2 (8) | 3 (6) | |
| 3 | 58 (64) | 13 (65) | 18 (75) | 27 (57) | |
| 4 | 26 (29) | 5 (25) | 4 (17) | 17 (36) | |
| CCI, n (%) | p = 0.13 | ||||
| 0 | 37 (41) | 12 (60) | 7 (29) | 18 (38) | |
| 1 | 16 (17) | 4 (20) | 3 (13) | 9 (19) | |
| ≥2 | 38 (42) | 4 (20) | 14 (58) | 20 (43) | |
| Smoking, n (%) | 18 (20) | 3 (15) | 5 (21) | 10 (21) | p = 0.78 |
| Alcohol units > 10 weekly, n (%) | 13 (14) | 3 (15) | 2 (8) | 8 (17) | p = 0.67 |
| Traveling distance *, n (%); 0–49 km/50+ km | 50 (55)/41 (45) | 10 (50)/10 (50) | 11 (46)/13 (54) | 29 (62)/18 (38) | p = 0.41 |
| Municipality, n (%); city/rural | 32 (35)/59 (65) | 6 (30)/14 (70) | 8 (33)/16 (67) | 18 (38) /29 (62) | p = 0.84 |
| Number of household members, n (%); 1/2+ | 49 (54)/42 (46) | 13 (65)/7 (35) | 15 (63)/9 (34) | 21 (45) /26 (55) | p = 0.61 |
| Type of housing, n (%) | p = 0.62 | ||||
| House | 56 (61) | 14 (70) | 13 (54) | 29 (62) | |
| Flat | 27 (30) | 6 (30) | 9 (38) | 12 (26) | |
| MD | 8 (9) | 0 (0) | 2 (8) | 6 (13) | |
| Employed, n (%) | 9 (10) | 0 (0) | 2 (8) | 7 (15) | p = 0.21 |
| Public domestic help, n (%); yes/MD | 37 (41)/1 (1) | 12 (60)/0 (0) | 9 (38)/0 (0) | 16 (35)/1 (2) | p = 0.16 |
| Use of wheelchair or walker, n (%) | 49 (54) | 12 (60) | 13 (54) | 24 (51) | p = 0.82 |
| Referred to oncologist, n (%) | 18 (20) | 1 (5) | 1 (4) | 16 (34) | p = 0.002 |
| Former or concurrent other cancer, n (%) | 31 (34) | 8 (40) | 7 (29) | 16 (34) | p = 0.77 |
| Anticoagulant use, n (%) | 44 (48) | 7 (35) | 11 (46) | 26 (55) | p = 0.31 |
| Albumin in g/L, mean (±SD) | 30.7 (±6.0) | 29.1 (±6.0) | 32.1 (±6.2) | 30.7 (±5.9) | p = 0.26 |
| Bilirubin in µmol/L, median (min–max) | 31 (3–566) | 120 (3–481) | 65 (4–566) | 19 (4–251) | p = 0.02 |
| CA 19-9 in kU/L, median (min–max) | 898 (2 → 100,000) | 242 (2–7,349) | 180 (7–16,405) | 6981 (4 → 100,000) | p < 0.001 |
| Primary tumor, n (%) | p = 0.18 | ||||
| Pancreas | 85 (93) | 1 (5) | 1 (4) | 2 (4) | |
| Duodenum | 4 (5) | 17 (85) | 23 (96) | 45 (96) | |
| Papilla | 2 (2) | 2 (10) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | |
| Primary tumor size in mm, mean (±SD) | 39.6 (18.6) | 34.3 (24.8) | 35.0 (13.0) | 44.2 (17.0) | p = 0.046 |
| Histological verification, n (%) | 47 (52) | 9 (45) | 13 (54) | 25 (53) | p = 0.85 |
| Bile duct stenting, n (%) | 37 (41) | 11 (55) | 15 (63) | 11 (23) | p = 0.002 |
| Palliative surgery, n (%) | 3 (3) | 1 (5) | 0 (0) | 2 (4) | p = 0.60 |
| Univariable Analysis | Multivariable Analysis | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Variable | Stratum | n | HR (95%CI) | p-Value | HR (95%CI) | p-Value |
| Age in years | <65 | 9 | 1.00 | - | 1.00 | - |
| 65–74 | 10 | 0.59 (0.24–1.45) | 0.25 | 0.46 (0.36–2.45) | 0.90 | |
| 75–84 | 50 | 0.35 (0.17–0.73) | 0.005 | 0.63 (0.29–1.36) | 0.24 | |
| 85+ | 22 | 0.44 (0.20–0.96) | 0.04 | 0.77 (0.33–1.81) | 0.56 | |
| Sex | Female | 41 | 1.00 | - | 1.00 | |
| Male | 50 | 1.05 (0.69–1.60) | 0.84 | 1.07 (0.68–1.67) | 0.78 | |
| Clinical stage | I + II | 20 | 1.00 | - | 1.00 | - |
| III | 24 | 2.20 (1.14–4.27) | 0.02 | 2.43 (1.21–4.92) | 0.01 | |
| IV | 47 | 3.94 (2.15–7.21) | <0.001 | 4.90 (2.39–10.0) | <0.001 | |
| ECOG PS | 1 | 6 | 1.00 | - | 1.00 | - |
| 2 | 23 | 0.69 (0.27–1.73) | 0.43 | 2.07 (0.71–6.05) | 0.18 | |
| 3 | 42 | 1.83 (0.76–4.39) | 0.18 | 4.20 (1.57–11.3) | 0.004 | |
| 4 | 20 | 3.00 (1.17–7.71) | 0.02 | 9.40 (3.01–29.3) | <0.001 | |
| Municipality | City | 32 | 1.00 | - | 1.00 | - |
| Rural | 59 | 0.93 (0.60–1.46) | 0.76 | 0.96 (0.58–1.57) | 0.86 | |
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Ladekarl, M.; Stender, M.T. Characteristics, Prognosis and Reasons for Opting-Out of Treatment in Patients with Untreated Pancreatic Cancer. Curr. Oncol. 2026, 33, 116. https://doi.org/10.3390/curroncol33020116
Ladekarl M, Stender MT. Characteristics, Prognosis and Reasons for Opting-Out of Treatment in Patients with Untreated Pancreatic Cancer. Current Oncology. 2026; 33(2):116. https://doi.org/10.3390/curroncol33020116
Chicago/Turabian StyleLadekarl, Morten, and Mogens Tornby Stender. 2026. "Characteristics, Prognosis and Reasons for Opting-Out of Treatment in Patients with Untreated Pancreatic Cancer" Current Oncology 33, no. 2: 116. https://doi.org/10.3390/curroncol33020116
APA StyleLadekarl, M., & Stender, M. T. (2026). Characteristics, Prognosis and Reasons for Opting-Out of Treatment in Patients with Untreated Pancreatic Cancer. Current Oncology, 33(2), 116. https://doi.org/10.3390/curroncol33020116

