HOLLYWOOD actor Patrick Swayze of "Dirty Dancing" fame has said in a statement that he is responding well to treatment for pancreatic cancer, People magazine reported Wednesday.

"I am continuing treatment at Stanford (University) and the great news is I continue to respond well," the actor told the magazine.

Swayze, who also starred in the hit film "Ghost" and was voted "Sexiest Man Alive" by People magazine in 1991, announced in March that he had been diagnosed with the life-threatening ailment.

US tabloids, including the National Enquirer and New York Post, have reported that the actor's condition is more serious than his representatives admit.

"Pancreatic cancer spreads rapidly and is seldom detected in its early stages, which is a major reason why it's a leading cause of cancer death," the US-based Mayo Clinic says on its web site, calling it "one of the most serious of cancers."

Swayze, however, has said he is on the mend and "enjoying the arrival of spring" at his home in New Mexico with his wife actress Lisa Niemi.