title: Survival in patients with primary liver cancer, gallbladder and extrahepatic biliary tract cancer and pancreatic cancer in Europe 1999-2007: Results of EUROCARE-5.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The EUROCARE study collects and analyses survival data from population-based cancer registries (CRs) in Europe in order to provide data on between-country differences in survival and time trends in survival.
  
  
  METHODS
  This study analyses data on liver cancer, gallbladder and extrahepatic biliary tract cancers ("biliary tract cancers"), and pancreatic cancer diagnosed in 2000-2007 from 88 CRs in 29 countries. Relative survival (RS) was estimated overall, by region, sex, age and period of diagnosis using the complete approach. Time trends in 5-year RS over 1999-2007 were also analysed using the period approach.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The prognosis of the studied cancers was poor. Age-standardised 5-year RS was 12% for liver cancer, 17% for biliary tract cancers and 7% for pancreatic cancer. There were some between-country differences in survival. In general, RS was low in Eastern Europe and high in Central and Southern Europe. For all sites, 5-year RS was similar in men and women and decreased with advancing age. No substantial changes in survival were reported for pancreatic cancer over the period 1999-2007. On average, there was a crude increase in 5-year RS of 3 percentage points between the periods 1999-2001 and 2005-2007 for liver cancer and biliary tract cancers.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The major changes in imaging techniques over the study period for the diagnosis of the three studied cancers did not result in an improvement in the prognosis of these cancers. In the near future, new innovative treatments might be the best way to improve the prognosis in these cancers.
authors.affiliation: Burgundy Cancer Registry, INSERM U866, Dijon, France; Department of Gastroenterology, University Hospital, Dijon, France; Burgundy University, Dijon, France. Electronic address: come.lepage@u-bourgogne.fr.
authors.forename: Côme
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lepage
authors.affiliation: Department of cancer epidemiology, Istituto Superior de Sanita, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Riccardo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Capocaccia
authors.affiliation: Bundesanstalt statistical Osterreich, Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Monika
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hackl
authors.affiliation: Departement of Research, Netherlands Comprehensive Cancer Organisation, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Valerie
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Lemmens
authors.affiliation: Escuela Andaluza de Salud Peblica, Insituto de Investigation biosanitaria, Hospitales Universitarios Universidad Granada, Spain.
authors.forename: Esther
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Molina
authors.affiliation: Department of cancer epidemiology, Istituto Superior de Sanita, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Daniela
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Pierannunzio
authors.affiliation: Analytical Epidemiology and Health Impact Unit, Department of Preventive and Predictive medicine, Fondazione IRCCS, Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Milena
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sant
authors.affiliation: Evaluative Epidemiology Unit, Department of Preventive and Predictive medicine, Fondazione IRCCS, Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Annalisa
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Trama
authors.affiliation: Burgundy Cancer Registry, INSERM U866, Dijon, France; Department of Gastroenterology, University Hospital, Dijon, France; Burgundy University, Dijon, France.
authors.forename: Jean
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Faivre
keywords: Biliary tract cancer; Cancer registry; Europe; Pancreatic cancer; Primary liver cancer; Survival; Time trends in survival