Pancreatic cancer is a condition in which malignant (cancerous) cells form in the tissues of your pancreas. The pancreas is a gland located behind your stomach and in front of your spine. The pancreas makes digestive liquid and hormones that regulate your blood sugar. Cells called exocrine pancreas cells make the digestive liquid, while cells called endocrine pancreas cells make hormones. The majority of pancreatic cancers start in the exocrine cells.
Pancreatic Cancer Symptoms
Symptoms of pancreatic cancer include:
- Jaundice (yellowing of your skin and whites of your eyes)
- Pain in the upper or middle abdomen and back
- Unexplained weight loss
- Not feeling hungry
- Feeling weak or fatigued
- Feeling sick or throwing up
- Depression
- Blood clots
- Diabetes
Pancreatic cancer can also cause your gallbladder or liver to get bigger. Your doctor may spot these symptoms after imaging tests.
Pancreatic Cancer Risk Factors
The factors which could put you at risk for developing pancreatic cancer include:
- Smoking
- Being exposed to certain chemicals at work (especially those used in the dry cleaning business and metal working jobs)
- Being older than 45 years old (2 in 3 people with pancreatic cancer are at least 65 years old)
- Having conditions such as chronic pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas), familial pancreatic cancer syndromes, long-standing diabetes, obesity, or inherited conditions (including hereditary pancreatitis)
- Your race (Black people are a bit more likely to get pancreatic cancer but researchers don’t know exactly why)
Researchers are still studying what affects your pancreatic cancer risk. Other risk factors of concern include:
- How active you are, as getting regular exercise may lower your risk
- Your diet — especially if you eat lots of processed or red meats, saturated fats, and sugar — which may raise your risk
- Infections, such as hepatitis B or H. pylori, which may raise your risk
How Is Pancreatic Cancer Diagnosed?
After taking down your health history and performing a physical exam, the doctor may order several tests to determine the cause of your problem or extent of the condition, including:
- CT scan (computed tomography)
- MRI (magnetic resonance imaging)
- Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS)
- Laparoscopy (surgical procedure to look at organs)
- Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP)
- Percutaneous transhepatic cholangiography (PTC; procedure used to X-ray liver and bile ducts)
- Biopsy (removal of tissue to view it under a microscope)
Pancreatic Cancer Treatment
There are various treatments for pancreatic cancer, including surgery, chemotherapy, immunotherapy, radiation therapy, and targeted therapy . Chemotherapy uses drugs to treat cancer, while radiation therapy uses X-rays or other kinds of radiation to kill cancer cells. Surgery can be used to remove a tumor or to treat symptoms of pancreatic cancer. Targeted therapy slows the growth and spread of cancer by targeting proteins or other substances in or on cancer cells. Immunotherapy increases the ability of the immune system to find and attack cancer cells.
What Is the Outlook for Pancreatic Cancer?
About 44% of people with localized pancreatic cancer that hasn’t spread beyond the pancreas are still living five years after diagnosis. About 3% of people whose cancer has spread to distant sites in the body are still alive five years after being diagnosed.
