Sex Difference Has No Effect on Survival in Pancreatic Cancer

Due to controversial results, the clinical impact of sex in pancreatic cancer has not been fully clarified. We aimed to investigate the clinical significance of sex in patients with pancreatic cancer in this study. A total of 334 pancreatic cancer patients were assessed retrospectively. Of 334 patients, 109 (32.6%) were women. The distribution of sex according to stages was identical: 52 of 154 patients (33.8%) had metastatic disease, 39 of 122 patients (32.0%) had locally advanced disease, and 18 of 58 patients (31.0%) had local disease (p = 0.9). No significant effect of any clinical variable on sex was observed in all stages, but women had higher serum LDH levels than men in metastatic disease (57.1 vs 20.5%, p = 0.009). Overall survival rates of patients in all stages were similar between sexes; the median overall survival rates in women vs. men were 5.5 vs. 4.35 months, respectively, in patients with metastatic disease (p = 0.2); 9.9 vs. 8.9 months, respectively in patients with locally advanced disease (p = 0.6); and 20.05 vs 17.8 months, respectively, in patients with local disease (p = 0.09). In conclusion, no effect of sex on survival was found in pancreatic cancer patients.