Trends in net survival for cancers of the liver and pancreas in Japan, 2000-14 (CONCORD-3).

[BACKGROUND] Pancreatic and liver cancers are the 6th and 7th most common cancers in Japan and are major contributors to cancer mortality.

[METHODS] We used CONCORD-3 data to estimate survival for primary pancreas and liver cancers, registered in 16 population-based regional cancer registries. Five-year net survival was estimated with the Pohar Perme estimator for three periods (2000-2004, 2005-2009, 2010-2014), adjusted for age using International Cancer Survival Standard weights.

[RESULTS] We analysed data on 79 636 patients with pancreatic cancer and 122 792 patients with liver cancer. Carcinoma accounted for 91.4% of pancreatic cancers, and age-standardized 5-year net survival remained poor, from 6.4% (95% CI: 5.9%-6.9%) in 2000-2004 to 8.3% (7.8%-8.7%) in 2010-2014. Five-year net survival for localized disease increased slightly, from 39.3% (33.4%-45.2%) in 2000-2004 to 44.2% (36.8%-51.7%) in 2010-2014. Distant-stage pancreatic cancer survival remained <2% throughout 2000-2014. Hepatocellular carcinoma accounted for 83.7% of liver cancers. Five-year net survival increased from 27.4% (26.8%-28.1%) in 2000-2004 to 33.4% (32.7%-34.0%) in 2010-2014. Five-year net survival for localized liver cancer increased from 38.0% (35.3%-40.7%) in 2000-2004 to 48.8% (46.4%-51.3%) in 2010-2014, while distant-stage survival remained <5% throughout 2000-2014.

[CONCLUSIONS] Five-year net survival remained poor for patients with pancreatic cancer in Japan throughout 2000-2014. Survival for liver cancer improved slightly. Early detection and improved diagnostic methods may help in reduce the proportion of patients diagnosed with advanced-stage.