The pancreas is a digestive organ attached to the small intestine. It literally means "all meat" since it looks like a piece of beef. It is about 4 inches long, and has a thicker "head" portion near where it connects to the small intestine, and a thinner "tail" which meets the spleen. The area between the head and tail is called the "body" of the pan-creas.

The pancreas assists digestion in two ways. The first is it's"endocrine" activity which means that it makes hormones secreted into the bloodstream. A hormone is a chemical messenger which controls some activity distantly from where it is secreted. The most important hormones of the pancreas areinsulin and glucagon. Insulin lowers the blood sugar by causing the body's cells to uptake sugar from the bloodstream. It also allows the sugars to be stored and turned into fats. A lack of insulin, or the body's cells being insensitive to it, leads to high blood sugar ("diabetes"). Chronically high blood sugar damages the kidneys, nerves and eyes ("triopathy"). Glucagon has just the opposite effect, it causes sugars to be released into the bloodstream from the cells to raise the blood sugar, and breaks down fat to be used for energy. This is crucial to prevent the blood sugar from becoming to low, since the brain is dependent upon sugar to remain conscious. Thus, both high blood sugar ("hyperglycemia") and low blood sugar ("hypoglycemia") are harmful, and should be immediately corrected by a properly functioning pancreas.

Secondly, the pancreas has "exocrine" activity meaning that it makes substances which are excreted directly into the small intestine, through the "pancreatic duct". This duct meets with the common bile duct from the gallbladder, which also excretes important substances to assist digestion by breaking down ("emulsifying") fats. The area where these ducts meet is called the "Ampulla of Vater". Exocrine substances from the pancreas includeenzymes, such as amylase and lipase, which break down complex sugars and fats into simpler forms allowing them to be easily digested. It also makesbicarbonate to help neutralize the hydrochloric acid produced by the stomach. All these chemicals are essential for digestion, both within the intestines and even within all the body's billions of cells. A person cannot live without these activities, either from the pancreas itself or by giving replacement drugs. Fortunately, we are now able to replace enough of the pancreas' function to keep a person alive without a pancreas!

Since the pancreas is a major digestive organ, it has a very important place in the central upper portion of the abdomen, surrounded by the stomach, liver, spleen and small intestine. It receives blood from a major arterial trunk ("celiac") off of the body's main artery, the aorta. It shares both its blood supply and it's venous drainage with the small intestine, liver and spleen. Also, a separate system of tiny "lymph channels" drain blood serum from the pancreas, filtering it in nearby "lymph nodes" to purify it. Lymph nodes contain clusters of white blood cells to kill germs. The lymph nodes are connected to each other via elaborate channels, which ultimately return the purified serum to the bloodstream. Lymph nodes are normally pea-sized, but can swell up ("lymphadenopathy") when exposed to germs or cancer cells. The pancreas can becomes inflamed from backup of it's products owing to duct blockage by a bile-stone ("gallstone ileus"), by viruses or bacteria, or by excessive alcoholic beverage consumption. To say the pancreas is inflamed does not specify it's cause, but is generally called "pancreatitis" . Both acute and chronic forms of pancreatis exist, and the disease is made known by abdominal pain, digestive problems, and failure of the pancreas to perform its exocrine and endocrine functions. Pancreatitis is the most common problem with the organ. More rarely, the pancreas can be afflicted by cancer.

What is Pancreas Cancer?

Like all organs, the pancreas is made up of individual living cells. These cells are joined to form the "tissues" of the pancreas. There are several different types of cells in the pancreas to accomplish it's functions. The these cells divided rapidly while the pancreas was growing in the womb, childhood and through puberty. As adults, they only divide rarely to replace old, dying cells or injured ones. Cell division is normally under very tight control by the genetic material ("genes") inside each cell. Pancreas cancer begins in a single cell. A change occurs in the genes of this cell, which loses it's controls to prevent haphazard division. The abnormal cell starts dividing rapidly, makes millions and billions of copies of itself. Soon a clump of abnormal cells is produced, called a"tumor". A tumor simply means a swelling, and is not necessarily cancerous. When the cells in the tumor just grow in their local area, and don't ever spread elsewhere, then the tumor is "benign". However, when the tumor's cells, which are dividing out of control, have the capacity to spread to distant body areas, this is a"malignant" whichis cancer . Malignant tumors can spread to any area of the body, the process of distant spread is called metastasis. The cancer at first grows in it's local area and interferes with the pancreas' functions. When cancer metastasizes, it can grow in vital organs, cause symptoms there, and eventually kill the patient.

How Common is Pancreas Cancer?

There were about 27,500 new cases of Pancreas Cancer in the U.S.A. in 1996, and 26,000 deaths. It is the 2nd most common gastrointestinal cancer after colo-rectal cancer. Pancreas cancer accounts for 2% of the new cancers each year in the U.S.A. and 5% of cancer deaths. Men and Women are equally affected, and the average patient is 65 years old. It is rare (<1%) in patients under 45 years old. Black individuals are affected almost twice as commonly as Whites. The number of new patients per year in the U.S.A. has remained steady over the past 25 years.

What Causes or Increases the Risk for Pancreas Cancer?

No one knows why any particular person gets pancreas cancer and another does not. However, certain things have been shown to increase the risk of getting it:

1. Cigarette smoking is a factor in over 1/2 of deaths from pancreas cancer. The risk gradually returns to normal after quitting smoking for 5 years.
2.Alcoholism can cause pancreatitis ( inflammation) which is strongly connected to pancreas cancer.
3.Chronic Inflammation of the pancreas from any source, including a blocked pancreatic duct, hereditary pancreatitis, or viruses increase cancer risk.
4. Carcinogens are chemicals that increase cancer risk. Workers in coke plants or those exposure to naptha or benzene get more pancreas cancer. The DDT pesticide is linked to a 7 times increase in pancreas cancer risk.
5. Diet is linked to many gastrointestinal cancers. High fat, low fiber diets may increase risk of pancreas cancer. Caffeine has not been proven to increase risk.
6.Diabetes is weakly linked to pancreas cancer, but pancreas cancer can also cause diabetes.
7. Surgery which has removed part or all of the stomach ("gastrectomy") raises the risk of pancreas cancer by 5 times over the following 20 years.

** Pancreas Cancer is not normally hereditary and is not contagious .

As you can see, something that most of the above "risk factors" have in common is that they stimulate the growth of pancreas cells through irritation or injury. The more often cells divide, the higher the chance that a mistake will occur in their genetic code (a "gene mutation") leading to a "transformed" cell which is cancerous.

Can Pancreas Cancer Be Prevented?

While pancreas cancer cannot be entirely prevented, the risk to get it may be lowered by avoiding cigarettes, using alcohol only in moderation, and lowering dietary fat. There is some evidence that vitamins "A" and"E", found in fresh vegetables and fruits, lowers the risk for all "gastro-intestinal" cancers. Interestingly, getting one's tonsils removed ("tonsillectomy") appears protective against pancreas cancer.

What are the Symptoms of Pancreas Cancer?

The symptoms of pancreas cancer depend upon where the pancreas it starts. In the tail of the pancreas, the tumor can grow very large with no symptoms at all until it spreads. In the "head" of the pancreas, closer to the small intestine, it is usual to see
some jaundice (below) as the cancer closes off bile ducts. The most common symptoms for cancer in the head or body include:

1. Weight loss and decreased appetitein 3/4 of patients.
2. Abdominal pain in 2/3 of patients. This pain is gnawing, and may be relieved by leaning forward. In general, it radiates to the patient's back.
3. Jaundice means a yellowing of the whites of the eyes, then the skin, caused by backup of bile into the bloodstream. The gall bladder and the pancreas empty into the same area of the small intestine, so a pancreas tumor can block-up the bile drainage and force it to backwash into the blood. The yellow-green bile causes the yellowing of the patient, in 1/2 of these cancer patients.
4. Bleeding into the intestines is seen in about 1/3 of patients. This may be seen as thick, tarry stools (also see below), since blood released into the upper intestine will appear black ("melena") by the time it passes through the anus.
5. Itching ("pruritis") especially in the palms and soles shows advanced cancer. The pruritis usually goes along with jaundice, from buildup of blood "bilirubin".
6.Diabetes is caused by loss of the pancreas' ability to secrete insulin.
7. Loose, smelly stools ("steatorrhea") is caused by loss of the pancreas' ability to excrete the enzymes (amylase and lipase) necessary for proper digestion.
8.Liver Symptoms (right upper abdomen pain) from liver spread and swelling it.
9.Hoarsenes s is found in one-quarter of patients.
10. Paraneoplastic syndromes means unusual conditions caused by the cancer releasing (or causing to be released) chemicals. For instance, skin color may start darkening, fat in the body decomposing or shifting location, blood clots may form, new hair may develop, are arthritis may set in - all due to cancer.
11. Depression, unexplained for other reasons, may herald pancreas cancer. It is critical for a psychiatrist to realize that new onset depression, especially in the older patient, may presage cancer.

Any of the above symptoms are much more likely to represent a benign condition than pancreas cancer. Nevertheless, they should not be ignored but brought to medical attention - if it is cancer, then early detection is crucial .

The pancreas is a digestive organ located in the upper abdomen, it is necessary for both maintaining proper blood sugar and proper digestion of food. When the pancreas develops cancer, it is critical to get the proper treatment to have the best chance for survival. Once pancreas cancer was considered uniformly fatal, but recent research offers new hope for cure and comfort for those stricken.

It is important to be knowledgable to make the right choices for the pancreas cancer patient. Making the right choice can literally mean the difference between life and death. You deserve the peace-of-mind knowing that you have done everything possible to help fight pancreas cancer successfully.

CancerAnswers's materials explain, in plain English, the definition, frequency, risk factors, symptoms, evaluation, historic treatment and latest effective treatment and results. We describe surgery, radiation and chemotherapy. We tell you everything you need to know to help make the right choices today in dealing with a pancreas cancer problem.

This is just an excerpt of CancerAnswers's report on Pancreas Cancer. Much more, including latest can be sent to you by mail when you order the complete Pancreas Cancer transcript at a nominal cost. Thank you for using CancerAnswers as your information resource.

	Enter your search terms Submit search form
	Web Canceranswers.com