NEW RESOURCES AND SURVEILLANCE GUIDES TO SUPPORT EARLY DETECTION OF PANCREATIC CANCER Pancare Foundation disseminates material commissioned by Cancer Australia and developed by UQ and Uni of Melbourne
With
Dr Michael KC Lee,
Medical Oncologist,
Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre
Dr Mark Buzza,
Head of Research, Innovation and Advocacy,
Pancare Foundation
SEGMENT
Filmed in Melbourne | February 2026
Pancreatic cancer remains one of Australia’s deadliest cancers, with five-year survival rates hovering at just 14%, with little improvement over several decades. Often called the ‘silent killer’, the disease frequently presents with minimal or vague symptoms, resulting in late diagnoses and poor outcomes. Pancare Foundation is leading the rollout of new clinical resources and surveillance guides to support healthcare professionals in identifying at-risk patients and promoting early detection.
More than 4,500 Australians are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer each year, and the disease is projected to become the second leading cause of cancer-related death by 2030. Despite advances in treatment, the lack of a population-level national screening program, as there is for bowel cancer for example, means that healthcare professionals play a critical role in early detection and patient education.
“Early identification is key,” said Dr Mark Buzza, Head of Research, Innovation and Advocacy, Pancare Foundation. “These new resources provide practical guidance for clinicians on risk assessment, surveillance protocols, and patient communication. By equipping healthcare professionals with the latest evidence-based tools, we can improve detection rates and ultimately patient outcomes.”
The resources highlight key risk factors to be aware of including a family history of pancreatic cancer, smoking, long-term diabetes, chronic pancreatitis, heavy alcohol use, and obesity.
Importantly, pancreatic cancer can also occur in patients without obvious risk factors. Developed by the University of Queensland (alongside their contributors), the new surveillance guides offer clear recommendations for monitoring high-risk individuals, identifying early symptoms, and coordinating referral pathways for diagnostic investigations.
In addition, the University of Melbourne provides pain and palliative care education resources for healthcare professionals, ensuring clinicians are equipped to support patients throughout the continuum of care.
Source: Adapted from Pancare Foundation media release
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HIGHLIGHTS The power of social determinants of health, panel discussion
Clinicians and consumers know only too well that life circumstances such as poor housing, income and food insecurity can have a negative impact on health outcomes. Conversely, participation in community activities, social connection and access to nature parks and leisure facilities can help maintain health and wellbeing.
More recent phenomena in public health have also focused us on the health and social care connection. Stress factors such as the sudden loss of employment and social interaction, moving to remote work or schooling, and the impacts of sudden, localised COVID-19 ‘lockdowns’ to prevent further outbreaks were triggers of increased psychological distress.
And loneliness is being described as our latest epidemic with chronic loneliness inked to a myriad of health problems and earlier death. A recent report found one in four Australians say they feel persistently lonely, and that loneliness costs $2.7 bn a year in health costs alone.
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Substantial increase in allied health funding for veterans through DVA
The Australian Federal 2026–27 Budget included several significant announcements relating to allied health services for veterans, largely tied to the Government’s response to recommendations from the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide.
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Course developed for people with intellectual disability to learn about research
Scope Australia is one of the largest not-for-profit disability service providers in Australia, supporting thousands of people with complex intellectual, physical, and multiple disabilities.
They operate across Victoria and New South Wales across more than 425 service locations.Scope’s research team developed a course about what research is and how to do research. Eight people with intellectual disability did the course. Five people took part in interviews to help Scope learn about the course and how to make it better.
