Pancreatic Cancer Research Paper

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,

Screening tests are only available through biopsies. This means that basically once symptoms arise, one would be able to go and get a prognosis as to whether or not they have this disease.

An MRI is typically more detailed than CT and will illustrate the cystic nature of the pancreatic lesion as well as the internal structure of the cyst. Follow up MRI images will reveal any changes in the cystic lesion as well as any abnormalities.

According to Professor John Neoptolemos, "There are approximately 7,000 new cases each year - but it is one of the most lethal cancers." The main reason for the low survival rate from pancreatic cancer is due to its difficulty in finding this cancer early. By the time a person has symptoms, the cancer has often reached a large size and spread to other organs. Because the pancreas is deep inside the body, the doctor cannot see or feel tumors during a routine physical exam. There are currently no blood tests or other tests that can easily find this cancer early in people without symptoms. Tests for certain genes in people with a family history of the disease can help tell if they are at higher risk for cancer. There are some new tests for finding pancreatic cancer early in people with a strong family history of the disease, but these tests are complicated and expensive. Some symptoms of pancreatic cancer include jaundice, a yellow color of the eyes and skin caused by a substance buildup in the liver, pain in the belly area or in the middle of the back, significant weight loss over a number of months, loss of appetite, digestive problems including nausea, vomiting, pain that tends to be worse after eating, a swollen gallbladder that is enlarged, blood clots that form in the veins or cause problems with fatty tissue under the skin, and diabetes. If the doctor has any reason to suspect pancreatic cancer, certain tests will be done to see if the disease is really

FDG PET imaging is useful for preoperative diagnosis of pancreatic carcinoma in patients with suspected pancreatic cancer in whom CT fails to identify a discrete tumor mass or in whom FNAs are non diagnostic. FDG PET imaging is useful for M staging and restaging by detecting CT occult metastatic disease, allowing non curative resection to be avoided. FDG PET can differentiate post-therapy changes from recurrence and holds promise for monitoring neoadjuvant chemoradiation therapy.

In the biopsy, the doctor will remove a piece of tissue from the pancreas. A pathologist then examines the tissue sample under a microscope to check for cancer cells.

Non functioning tumours and Pancreatic Polypeptide secreting tumours make up 15-20% of pancreatic tu-mours, are frequently malignant, large and found almost exclusively within the pancreas.

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

Signs and Symptoms from early to late stages include; Dark urine, pale stools, and yellow skin and eyes from jaundice, Nausea and vomiting, frequent bowel movement, Pain in the upper part of your belly and pain in the middle part of your back, relieved by a shift in position, Others may include weakness or feeling very tired with loss of appetite or feelings of fullness and weight loss. Pancreatic cancer can be diagnosis by having a blood tests, CT scan, an x-ray, ultrasound and endoscopy. Physical exam may examine abdominal changes in areas near the pancreas, liver,

When spreading through the body there are certain stages the cancer has to go through to expand. Stage 0. There is no spread.The cancer is limited to only one cell in the pancreas. Stage I: The cancer is only limited to the pancreas cell, but has moved at least two centimeters. Not yet visible in screening tests. Stage II: The cancer has grown outside the pancreas and may have spread to the lymph nodes. Stage III: The tumor has spread drastically making it now possible for the tests to detect the tumor,increasing the possibility for it expand into the blood vessels or nerves. Stage IV: The cancer has spread to different organs of the body.("Pancreatic Cancer Treatments by Stage") The first place to attack after spreading would be the stomach, then it would expand to the liver. After the cancer reaches these points, it travels to other places in the body. ("Treating Pancreatic Cancer, Based on Extent of the Cancer").

The pancreas is a digestive organ that lies below the stomach, it is mostly made up of exocrine and endocrine tissues. The exocrine parts form sacs known as Acini, which connect to ducts with empty into the first part of the intestine (The duodenum). Smaller parts of the exocrine glands are dispersed all throughout the pancreas which are known as islets of Langerhans (Anon, Unknown).

Pancreatic cancer is when cancer cells form around the the tissue in the pancreas. It is located in your stomach in front of your spine. What the pancreas does for you is it makes the liquid and the hormones that help make your blood sugar normal. For the most part the start of pancreatic cancers start in the exocrine cells. Pancreatic cancer has a poor judgement that might happen in the future. It spreads very fast and not seen in the earlier stages. That is one reason this is one of the major cancers that leads to a lot of people's

Pancreatitis is a disease that involves the pancreas. The pancreas is considered a large gland which is located behind the stomach and right next to the small intestine. There are two main functions that the pancreas does; one, “It releases powerful digestive enzymes into the small intestine to aid the digestion of food, and two, It releases the hormones insulin and glucagon into the bloodstream. These hormones help the body control how it uses food for energy” (Digestive Disorders Health Center, 2005-2015). With pancreatitis disease, it means that the pancreas is becoming inflamed. When this happens the digestive enzymes become active which releases it into the small intestine and starts attacking the pancreas.

Pancreatic cancer tumors are staged according to tumor-node-metastasis (TNM) classifications of the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC). The staging of tumors is based on tumor size and localization, and connected to resectability. 19 Further staging reflect whether lymph node metastasis (N stage) or distant metastasis (M stage) are present. Tumor stage, nodal stage and distant metastasis are combined into stages which tell about the overall disease. See Table 1 for complete overview of this staging strategy. 19

This paper will discuss pancreatic cancer, statistics of the disease, different types, treatments, and how your everyday nutrition intake can attract it and vice versa. Pancreatic cancer is the fourth deadliest cancer in the world with very low survival rates depending on what stage you have. Over 95% of patients diagnosed will die from the disease, and most within one year of their diagnosis. There two main types of this disease being exocrine tumors (most commonly called adenocarcinoma) and endocrine tumors. The exocrine pancreas produces pancreatic enzymes necessary for digestion and transfers them into the ducts of the small intestine. The endocrine pancreas holds endocrine cells that are sorted into islets and releases hormones such as insulin into your bloodstream to regulate the use of body fuels such as glucose. Exocrine cancer is the more common of the two.