About Pancreatic Cancer
What is Pancreatic Cancer?
The pancreas has two primary roles. The "exocrine" component creates enzymes for food digestion. The "endocrine" produces hormones, particularly insulin. Over 95% of pancreas cancers, called "adenocarcinoma", arise from the exocrine component. Malignant tumors in the respective regions have differing symptoms with differing approaches to medical treatment.
Pancreatic cancer occurs when cells in the pancreas develop genetic mutations causing the cells to grow uncontrollably. The cancerous cells continue to live after normal cells die within normal processes. As the cancer cells accumulate, they form a malignant tumor.
If not caught in early stages, the cancer cells will spread to nearby tissues and organs. Via the blood and lymphatic system, they also travel to other parts of the body. At this stage of "metastatic"cancer, pancreatic cancer is very difficult to treat and becomes almost a death sentence although there are many long-term survivors.
Read about the pancreas.
Taking Pancreatic Cancer Research To The Next Level
Pancreatic Cancer Has The Highest Mortality Rate
Pancreatic cancer statistics are startling. The five-year survival rate is less than 6% and the average life expectancy after diagnosis is 3 to 9 months. While breast and lung cancer continue to experience dramatically improved survival rates, pancreatic cancer has not made any noticeable strides towards early detection methods, enhanced treatments or extended survival rates in the last 40-years. By comparison, the average 5-year survival rate of breast cancer is 83% versus pancreatic cancer at an anemic 6%.
New cases. About 44,000 new cases of cancer of the pancreas are diagnosed each year in the US. Over 37,000 will die in 2011. Those incidence rates have been essentially stable since 1981. Incident rates for women have been increasing by 1.7% per year since 2000. To put those numbers into perspective: 5 people will be diagnosed every hour while 4.2 will die every hour.
Pancreatic cancer is the number 4 killer of all cancers and has the highest mortality rate. There are two primary reasons. There is no method of early detection and by the time it is diagnosed, it is usually to late for life-saving treatments to perform. Two, the funding investment made by the federal government for pancreatic cancer research is ridiculously paltry versus what is contributed to other types of cancer research.
Pancreatic Cancer Symptoms
Only 7% of patients are diagnosed at an early stage when the cancer is localized in the pancreas and most treatable. It is often called the "silent killer" because the symptoms are so generally vague and very similar to other less serious conditions.
The initial symptoms. The symptoms can vary depending upon the involved component of the pancreas. Symptoms may include rapid weight loss, pains in the upper region of the abdomen radiating to the back, indigestion, bloating, nausea, diarrhea and bowel movements that are oily, fatty and float in water. Tumors that develop near the common bile duct may cause a blockage that leads to jaundice yellowing of the skin and eyes.
Read more about pancreatic cancer symptoms.
Pancreatic Cancer Risk Factors
Even having several risk factors, does not mean that cancer is eminent. Likewise, pancreatic cancer can strike without evidence of any risk factors. However, the more risk factors one has, the more observant he or she must be of any symptoms. Any concerns should always be discussed with a physician.
Major Risk Factors
- Risks become greater as a person gets older. It is rare that a person under 40 will be diagnosed with cancer of the pancreas. Over 90% of cases are discovered at age 55 and older. The average age at diagnosis is 72.
- Using the incidence rate of males, African Americans have about a 27% greater incident rate than caucasians. Asians, Pacific Islanders and American Indians have about 23% less incident rate than do caucasians. Hispanic males have a 16% less chance of being stricken than caucasians. The incident rate among those of Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry is higher versus the general population.
- Men are slightly more vulnerable that women.
- Cigarette smokers can be 2-3 times more at risk that non-smokers.
- Although there is controversy, most studies show there is a link with cancer of the pancreas.
- The major risk is with type 2 diabetes. A link between type 1 juvenile diabetes and pancreatic cancer is not clear.
- Studies show that family history of pancreatic cancer is a huge risk factor.
- This is a long-term inflammation of the pancreas most often caused by alcohol abuse or inherited gene. People with a family inherited gene have a lifetime risk of developing pancreatic cancer of 40% to 70%.
More about risks of getting pancreatic cancer.
Seena Magowitz Pancreatic Cancer Foundation does not intend to provide specific medical advice. It only provides general information to help users better understand their health. SMF urges all users to always consult with qualified physicians for any diagnosis or answers to specific questions.
