Pancreatic cancer is a type of cancer that starts in the cells in your pancreas, which is a gland in your abdomen (tummy). These cells make digestive juices and hormones. They also help control blood sugar levels.
When these cells start to mutate, they form a tumor that can grow and spread quickly. It is very difficult to find and treat pancreatic cancer early on.
Risk factors for this type of cancer include age, having a family history of this disease, and smoking or being overweight. It is also more common in people who have diabetes or chronic pancreatitis.
Diagnosis and treatment: The diagnosis of pancreatic cancer depends on your medical history and the results of tests that show how big a tumor is. Your doctor may order a biopsy or ultrasound. Your doctor may also perform a CT scan or other imaging test.
You may need surgery to remove the tumor and surrounding tissue, or to remove other parts of your pancreas if it is too large for a biopsy. This procedure can be very painful.
In some cases, your doctor may recommend chemotherapy to treat your cancer before you have surgery. This treatment is designed to kill any remaining cancer cells and prevent them from spreading. It can also help ease symptoms like pain and nausea.
The best time to have surgery is after you have been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and before it has spread to other parts of your body. The surgery can be a life-saving treatment if it is performed by a good surgeon, and it can reduce the risk of recurrence and death.
Your doctor may also suggest genetic testing to see if you have any inherited gene changes that could help predict your chances of developing pancreatic cancer. This test can also tell your doctor which types of medications you should take to prevent this type of cancer.
Surgery to remove a tumor or part of the tumor and surrounding tissues is usually the most effective way to treat pancreatic cancer. The goal of this surgery is to completely remove the tumor, while minimizing side effects.
Other treatments that are used to treat pancreatic cancer are radiation, chemotherapy, and targeted therapy. These treatments can be used in combination with surgery to target and destroy specific cancer cells.
Chemotherapy can also be used to help treat the symptoms of pancreatic cancer and relieve side effects. It can also be given to destroy any cancer cells that remain after surgery.
The most common form of pancreatic cancer is ductal adenocarcinoma, which accounts for about 95% of all cases. Other forms of the cancer are cystic mucinous neoplasm, intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm, and mixed ductal-endocrine carcinoma.
Resectability staging is a modern method for classifying the stage of a pancreatic cancer. This system divides tumors into four categories, based on whether they can be removed by surgery or not. The cancer can be resectable, borderline resectable, locally advanced nonresectable, or metastatic.
