Causes And Treatments Of Pancreatic Cancer

"Cancer of the pancreas is a genetic disease that is the fifth most common cause of death in both men and women. Pancreatic cancer affects approximately 28,000 Americans each year, or five out of 100,000 people" (Mayo Clinic, 1998). According to physicians at Johns Hopkins Medical Institute, "pancreatic cancer is the challenge of the twenty-first century." So, where exactly is the pancreas located in our bodies, and what does it do? The pancreas is a gland found behind the stomach that is shaped somewhat like a fish. The pancreas is about six inches long and less than two inches wide, and it extends across the abdomen. The pancreas consists of two separate glands inside the same organ, the exocrine gland and the

Pancreatic cancer is more likely to be passed on genetically than colon cancer. Symptoms for pancreatic cancer can be more extensive and include jaundice, dark urine, abdomen pain, weight loss and poor appetite, and can cause or worsen diabetes due to the deterioration of the insulin producing cells. Preventative measures for pancreatic cancer include maintaining a healthy weight, pursuing a healthy diet, eliminating smoking and alcohol consumption, and avoiding chemical exposure in the

Pancreatic cancer is currently number four in cancer related deaths for both male and female. Why is pancreatic cancer awareness not reconsidered like breast cancer (second most common deaths in women.) Pancreatic cancer kills just about or more than breast cancer.

The pancreas is located between the stomach and small intestine, and secretes insulin and glucagon to balance blood sugar levels in the body. When the pancreas does not work properly, a person may be diagnosed with diabetes mellitus, which is more commonly known simply as Diabetes (Morris and Maisto, 2002). People with diabetes suffer from extreme thirst, fatigue, lack of or increased appetite, and a myriad of other symptoms if their condition is not controlled properly with diet, exercise, and medications (if needed) (Steadman’s Concise Medical Dictionary, 2001).

There are not many defined risk factors known for pancreatic cancer. Some risk factors are “family history of the disease, smoking, age, and diabetes (Mayoclinic).” Ideally, pancreatic cancer cells can be detected early and the patient can be treated surgically, but once the cancer has spread, it is usually incurable. A popular clinical tool used to detect pancreatic cancer “is a tumor marker called sialylated Lewis blood group antigen CA19–9, which can act as a sensitive tumor marker, value diminishes when used to detect small, resectable tumors (Maitra,

Approximately 20% of pancreatic cancer is found to be operable or resectable. The complete resection of the primary lesion is best treatment for patients with localized pancreatic cancer. However the risk of both local and distal recurrence is high in following resection. In early stage pancreatic cancer the complete resection are associated with considerable morbidity in 40–60% of patients and mortality in less than 3% of patients (Sohn et al., 2000; Winter et al., 2006). Moreover, it takes 2–3 months for complete recovery to a normal quality of life. Although the 5-year survival rate of resected pancreatic cancer is approximately 20% and the median overall survival time is 17–27 months (Winter et al., 2006).

Pancreatic cancer is the cancer that appears quickly and many die just as quick. Pancreatic cancer is the least known cancer to the medical world; puzzling doctors because most are not sure what diagnosis to look for. However, the risk factors include smoking, diabetes, and obesity. Studies show that pancreatic cancer has a higher percentage in the African American community due to environmental risk factors (John Hopkins Pathology, 2012).

Once the doctor has determined what stage of cancer you have then a course of treatment can be discussed. If you are diagnosed early enough the Doctors can perform and surgery called the Whipple procedure. It involves removing the head of the pancreas, a portion of your small intestine, gall bladder, part of the bile duct, and part of your stomach. The doctor then reconnects what left of your stomach, pancreas, and intestines so you can digest food. Side effects of this surgery can include risk of infection and bleeding, as well as some nausea and vomiting. There will be a long recovery after this procedure. Other forms of treatment are Radiation therapy, which uses x-rays to destroy cancer cells, and chemotherapy, which uses drugs to destroy cancer cells. There are also ongoing clinical trials, which look for new treatments. If the

Table 1: Causes of Pancreatic Cancer What are the symptoms of pancreatic cancer? The symptoms are wide ranged but usually do not appear till in the late stages of the cancer. That is one of the reasons that this is such a deadly killer. Some of the more common symptoms are shared by other diseases and is another factor that causes this disease so hard to diagnose. Pain in the upper back or upper abdomen, loss of appetite, weight loss, jaundice (yellowing of the eyes and skin, dark urine), indigestion, nausea and vomiting. This is a list of the more common symptoms but as with each individual the symptoms can be different in each. As with any unknown disease, a physician is the best place to start to protect peopleshealth and get a correct diagnosis. How is pancreatic cancer diagnosed? The physician will order a variety of possible diagnostic tests. A blood test can assess various pancreatic and liver functions and may suggest pancreatic cancer. If cancer is suspected a needle biopsy is usually conducted to examine the pancreas cells themselves for signs of cancer (Britannica Online 2007). These procedures are invasive and can cause complications including pancreatitis. In order to make a correct diagnosis and to determine the stage of the cancer it is possible to use multiple imaging techniques to allow doctors to see the pancreas even though it

My mom was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer stage IV last July. “I could believe what was happening to me, at the age of 44 I considered myself a healthy person, I was never sick, I never smoked, I was highly active and had a healthy diet. I couldn't find a possible explanation that justified this illness.” she said. It was really though for my family, we couldn't even say the word “cancer” for a few months. We became angry because we thought that my mom didn’t deserved that. The doctors were confident, even though stage IV of pancreatic cancer has 1% of survival rate in the US. In addition to that, my mom’s tumor couldn't be removed because the cancer spread to distant organs.

Abdominal ultrasound is sometimes used for quick and cheap first examinations. If there is uncertainty about the diagnosis they may do a biopsy by fine needle aspiration. Pancreatic cancer is usually staged after a ct scan is done. The staging system is four stages,from early to advanced and based on TNM classification.TNM stands for Tumor size, spread to lymph nodes,and metastasis. Based on if surgical removal seems possible,the tumors are divided into three broader categories to help decide treatment. Tumors are resectable, borderline resectable or undetectable. If the disease is still in an early stage(stage 1 or 2) surgical resection of the tumor can be performed. Stage 3 tumors can be borderline resectable where surgery can technically still be done or unresectable where its to locally advanced. Stage 1 cancer is only found in the pancreas. Stage 1 is divided into a and b stages based on tumor size. Stage 1a is when the tumor is no bigger than 2 cm. Stage 1b is when the tumor is bigger than 2 cm. The second stage is when the cancer could have spread to nearby tissue and organs, and may have also spread to the lymph nodes near the

The indications of pancreatic adenocarcinoma don't generally show up in the disease's initial stages and are individually not different to the illness. The indications at diagnosis shift as per the area of the tumor in the pancreas, which anatomists divide into the thick head, the neck, and the decreasing body, finishing in the tail. Despite a tumor's area, the most

There are many forms of cancer. Breast Cancer, Lung Cancer, Leukemia, and Brain Cancer just to name a few, but the one I am bringing attention to in this essay is Pancreatic Cancer. Pancreatic Cancer is a very aggressive form of cancer and it has many risky factors. Many people do not know those risky factors important information dealing with Pancreatic Cancer and I will explain a few of those important things in this essay. The American Cancer Society and the Cancer Treatment Centers of America gave me a lot of information to help write about this topic.

Pancreatic Cancer is currently one of the deadliest cancers in the world. In the United States alone, Pancreatic Cancer was the fourth leading cause of death among males and third in females causing 19,480 and 24,530 deaths respectively (Siegel et al., 2013). It has a five year survival rate of less than three percent in the United States (Siegel et al., 2013). This is mainly due to late diagnosis, surgical difficulties, aggressive metastases and resistance to apoptosis (Li et al., 2014). Surgical intervention has been seen as the most effective form of treatment for pancreatic tumors but due to late detection, surgical options become difficult to pursue. As a result, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy are the main routes of treatment for patients (Li et al., 2014). Unfortunately not only are these routes very low in efficacy (Li et al., 2014), but have incredibly devastating side effects on the body and the overall quality of life of patients (Love et al., 2006).

The main function of the pancreas is maintaining blood glucose levels to about 70-150 milligrams per decilitre. The pancreas does this by measuring if the blood sugar level is too high or low, if it is not the correct level then a hormone is released. If the blood sugar level is too high insulin is released from the beta cells and causes glucose to enter body cells to be used for energy but sometimes can stimulate glucose to turn to glycogen in the liver. However, if it is too low then glucogen is released into the blood which causes the stored glycogen in the liver to break down