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Overview

The pancreas is one among the accessory digestive glands, located in abdominal cavity, which produces digestive juice/enzymes and hormones. Pancreas is composed of two parts based on the cells present:

The exocrine part – produces digestive enzymes (special proteins); released into the small intestine and further help in digestion especially fat.
The endocrine part – contains ‘islets of Langerhans’ i.e., an island of different kinds of cells which produce hormones such as insulin, glucagon, pancreatic polypeptide (PP), and vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP); released into blood stream and act on their target organs. These hormones play an important role in regulating the body’s glucose levels as well as metabolism.

What is Pancreatic cancer?

The type of cancer that originates in the pancreatic cells is called Pancreatic cancer. Pancreatic cancer can occur in any kind of pancreatic cells, but the exocrine (cells that produce juices) type is most common and is usually diagnosed at advanced stages. Adenocarcinoma of the pancreas, is the common one, which occurs in the exocrine cells of the pancreas.

At American Oncology Institute (AOI), the one of the best hospitals for pancreatic cancer treatment in India, our clinicians and other cancer care specialists are well trained in US based institutes and principles of treating cancer and are experts at diagnosing and treating pancreatic cancer. At AOI, our multidisciplinary team approach for quality and standard cancer care makes us unique, preferrable and one among the best pancreatic cancer treatment centers.

Is pancreatic cancer deadly?

Pancreatic cancer usually remains undiagnosed until it reaches advanced stage as it doesn’t cause any noticeable symptoms in early stages. It becomes symptomatic once the tumor size has grown to significant size and by this time, it has metastasized (spread to other parts of the body). It is estimated that about 10 – 15 % of pancreatic cancers are diagnosed when they reach at the stage of surgery and in such cases, the prognosis is usually poor due to its high chances of recurrence. Also, in most cases, the surgeons remove almost 90% of the pancreas with small fraction remaining functional which again worsens the overall well-being and functioning of the body, hence affecting patient’s quality of life. With pancreatic cancer, around 20-30% of patients could be said to have fair five years survival chances.

Therefore, early and timely diagnosis of pancreatic cancer is very important for better treatment outcomes and longevity of the patient.

Causes

What causes pancreatic cancer?

Specific cause of pancreatic cancer is not known yet. It can affect anyone at any age. Some common factors or the risk factors that may increase a person’s risk for developing pancreatic cancer should be avoided such as:

Smoking
Diabetes
Chronic pancreatitis
Obesity, diet & alcohol
Certain hereditary disorders
Family history

What causes pancreatitis?

When there is swelling and soreness (inflammation) in pancreas, it is called as Pancreatitis which could be due to several factors. Pancreatitis can be acute (short term) and chronic (long term). Pancreatitis can occur due to many causes like alcohol abuse, certain medicines, smoking, etc.

Chronic pancreatitis could be one of the major risk factors for pancreatic cancer and increases the risk of by 2 to 3 times that of the general population. Long-term inflammation of the pancreas that occurs in chronic pancreatitis, gradually damages the pancreatic tissues and result in the scarring of the pancreas.

What should I do to prevent pancreatic cancer?

There are no specific causative factors known for pancreatic cancers. But preventing ourselves from the risk factors that could be avoided, following healthy approaches and lifestyle changes may reduce the risk of pancreatic cancer. However, unavoidable risk factors cannot be avoided.

Unavoidable risk factors such as:

Gender – Men are more affected than women.
Increasing age – increased risk after 45years of age.
Family history – familial pancreatic cancer may run in generations and increases the risk of developing pancreatic cancer.
Ethnicity/race – Black people are more likely to be affected than Asian, Hispanic, or white people for pancreatic cancer.

Avoidable risk factors:

Smoking
Obesity/ overweight
Alcohol
Unhealthy diet
Diabetes
Chronic pancreatitis
Physical inactivity

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Pancreatic Cancer

Pancreatic Cancer

1800 208 2000

+91 73311 91919

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