Shifting Patterns in Pancreatic Cancer- Trends in Hospitalizations in U.S.A

Background: Pancreatic cancer remains one of the deadliest cancers with rising mortality and incidence rates worldwide. This study analyzes recent trends in pancreatic cancer to understand the demographic and temporal shifts in its outcomes. Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted using Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) database from 2016 until 2020, to identify pancreatic cancer hospitalization, discharges, and investigate outcomes. Trends were adjusted for age, sex, race, insurance type, mean household income, and hospital characteristics. Multivariable logistic regression has been used to analyze the data. Results: A total of 103,588,729 records were analyzed, identifying 111,250 cases with a diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. From 2016 to 2020, hospitalizations remained relatively stable, with a slight decrease from 37,434 to 36,510. The mean age at diagnosis was 68 years (P<0.001). Males were slightly more affected than females. The highest prevalence was observed in the White population (70%), followed by African Americans (13.9%) and Hispanics (8.3%) (P<0.001). Notably, the prevalence among Hispanics increased from 8.3% to 9.1%, (P<0.001). Inpatient mortality decreased from 6.9% to 4.9% (P<0.001), and the mean hospital stay reduced from 7.1 to 6.8 days. However, hospital charges increased from $88,778 to $100,278. Conclusion: Risk factors include male sex, with the mean age at diagnosis being 68 years. The incidence among the Hispanic population has been increasing over the years. Although inpatient mortality has decreased, this may be due to terminally ill patients opting for end-of-life care at home or in hospice, which is not recorded in the database.