The present retrospective chart review examined the overall survival (OS) of patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma based on the disease stage in a sample of 296 patients with pancreatic cancer. Secondary outcome measurements included OS in chemotherapy vs. supportive treatment groups among metastatic patients, OS based on response to chemotherapy among metastatic patients, and OS and disease free survival (DFS) in surgically resected disease with vs. without adjuvant therapy. Data were analyzed using Kaplan-Meier and multivariate cox-regression analyses based on a 95% confidence interval (CI) or an α-value of 0.05. OS was significantly different based on the disease stage, with 3.63 (95% CI, 2.84-4.43), 6.57 (95% CI, 4.06-9.08) and 15.57 (95% CI, 11.79-19.35) months in the advanced, locally advanced, and localized disease groups, respectively. OS was higher in metastatic-stage patients who received chemotherapy [6.07 months (95% CI, 4.75-7.39)] compared with those who received supportive therapy alone [2.50 months (95% CI, 2.16-2.84; P<.001)]. Metastatic-stage patients with partial or stable response to chemotherapy had higher OS [10.53 months (95% CI, 6.35-14.72)] in comparison with those with progression [6.33 months (95% CI, 5.79-6.88)] or an undocumented response [3.30 months (95% CI, 1.76-4.84; P<0.001)]. In patients who underwent surgical resection of localized disease, adjuvant therapy increased the adjusted OS and DFS as compared with surgical excision alone (P=0.013; 95% CI, 0.278-0.862). Positive margins reduced OS [hazard ratio (HR) 2.670; 95% CI, 1.467-4.860]. The present single-site study has demonstrated that OS may markedly differ on the basis of the disease status at the time of diagnosis. Metastatic-stage patients with stable or partial response to chemotherapy had an increased OS, as did surgical patients with localized disease who received adjuvant treatment, after adjusting for margin status.