Pancreatic cancer; Cancer - pancreasOverview
Pancreatic carcinoma is cancer of the pancreas.
Review Date: 8/9/2009
Reviewed By: David C. Dugdale, III, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of General Medicine, Department of Medicine, Uniersity of Washington School of Medicine; and Yi-Bin Chen, MD, Leukemia/Bone Marrow Transplant Program, Massachusetts General Hospital. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.
The information provided herein should not be used during any medical emergency or for the diagnosis or treatment of any medical condition. A licensed medical professional should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions. Call 911 for all medical emergencies. Links to other sites are provided for information only -- they do not constitute endorsements of those other sites. Â© 1997- 2009 A.D.A.M., Inc. Any duplication or distribution of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited.
The pancreas is a large organ that is found behind the stomach. It makes and releases enzymes that help the body absorb foods, especially fats. Hormones called insulin and glucagon are also made in the pancreas. These hormones help your body control blood sugar levels.
The exact cause is unknown, but pancreatic cancer is more common in smokers and people who are obese. Pancreatic cancer is slightly more common in women than in men. The risk increases with age.
A small number of cases are related to genetic syndromes that are passed down through families.
A tumor or cancer in the pancreas may often grow without any symptoms at first. This may mean pancreatic cancer is more advanced when it is first found.
Early symptoms of pancreatic cancer include:
Other possible symptoms are:
Call for an appointment with your health care provider if you have:
Because pancreatic cancer is often advanced when it is first found, very few pancreatic tumors can be removed by surgery. The standard procedure is called a pancreaticoduodenectomy (Whipple procedure).
This surgery should be done at centers that perform the procedure frequently. Some studies suggest that surgery is best performed at hospitals that do more than five of these surgeries per year.
When the tumor has not spread out of the pancreas but cannot be removed,
When the tumor has spread (metastasized) to other organs such as the liver, chemotherapy alone is usually used. The standard chemotherapy drug is gemcitabine, but other drugs may be used. Gemcitabine can help approximately 25% of patients.
Patients whose tumor cannot be totally removed, but who have a blockage of the tubes that transport bile (
Management of pain and other symptoms is an important part of treating advanced pancreatic cancer. Hospice can help with pain and symptom management, and provide psychological support for patients and their families during the illness.
Some patients with pancreatic cancer that can be surgically removed are cured. However, in more than 80% of patients the tumor has already spread and cannot be completely removed at the time of diagnosis.
Chemotherapy and radiation are often given after surgery to increase the cure rate (this is called adjuvant therapy). For pancreatic cancer that cannot be removed completely with surgery, or cancer that has spread beyond the pancreas, a cure is not possible and the average survival is usually less than 1 year. Such patients should consider enrolling in a clinical trial (a medical research study to determine the best treatment).
Ninety-five percent of the people diagnosed with this cancer will not be alive 5 years later.
This disease may also affect the results of the following tests: