A Simple Guide to Pancreatic Cancer

A Simple Guide to Pancreatic Cancer
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What is Pancreatic Cancer?
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Pancreatic Cancer is a malignant disease of the exocrine pancreas. 90% are adenocarcinomas.

What are the causes of Pancreatic Cancer?
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1.Smoking. cigarettes smoke chemicals has been known to damage the pancreatic cells

2.Diets rich in red meat- high protein tends to stmulate more enzymes frm pancreas and cause dysfunction in the cells

3.Diabetes mellitus -damage to islets in pancreas may contribute to pancreatic cancer

4.Chronic pancreatitis has been found to have some causal effect

5.Helicobacter pylori infection -known to cause stomach cancer and also pancreatic cancer

6.Occupational exposure to certain chemicals including insecticides

7.Family history -there is a family history in 5-10% of pancreatic cancer patients

8.Obesity - the high fat diet may induce more disease of bile system with blockage of its tract

What are the symptoms and signs of Pancreatic Cancer?
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Symptoms - non-specific and varied.

1.pain in the upper abdomen that typically radiates to the back

2.pain relieved by leaning forward

3.painless jaundice related to bile duct obstruction (carcinoma of the head of the pancreas)

4.depression is sometimes associated with pancreatic cancer


Signs:

1.tenderness in upper abdomen

2.mass in the abdomen

3.Trousseau sign- Spontaneous blood clots in veins of extremities, or the superficial veins may indicate presence of pancreatic cancer.


How do you diagnose Pancreatic Cancer?
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Diagnosis can usually be made by :

History
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1.pain in upper abdomen radiating straight to the back, worse on eating

2.Weight loss severe with anorexia, early satiety, diarrhea, or steatorrhea.

3.Jaundice -initially painless, itchy with dark urine.
Painful jaundice occurs later

4.onset of atypical diabetes mellitus

5.unexplained recent thrombophlebitis

6.past history of pancreatitis

Location of cancer
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1.Tumors in the pancreatic body or tail usually present with pain and weight loss

2.Tumors in the head of the gland typically present with steatorrhea, weight loss, and jaundice.

Courvoisier sign
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presence of jaundice and a painlessly distended gallbladder is suggestive of pancreatic cancer

Liver function tests
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may show a combination of results indicative of bile duct obstruction (raised conjugated bilirubin, SGGT and alkaline phosphatase levels).

CA19-9 (carbohydrate antigen 19.9)
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is a tumor marker that is frequently elevated in pancreatic cancer.

Ultrasound or abdominal CT
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may be used to identify tumors.

Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) is another procedure that can help visualize the tumor and obtain tissue to establish the diagnosis.

What is the treatment of Pancreatic Cancer?
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Treatment of pancreatic cancer can be surgery or chemotherapy depending on the stage of the cancer.

Surgery
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1.Where the head of the pancreas is involved, the Whipple procedure is the most common surgical treatment for pancreatic cancers.
It is a major surgery involving the the resection of the head of pancreas and requres the patient to be fit for the surgery and the tumor to be localised without metastases. Only in small number of cases can the surgery be done.

2.Cancers of the tail of the pancreas can be removes by a technique called distal pancreatectomy

3.localized tumors of the pancreas have been surgically removed using laparoscopy.

4.Surgery may be performed for relief of symptoms especially if the cancer is invading or pressing on the duodenum or colon.

5.Bypass surgery may prevent the obstruction of the pancreatic ducts and improve quality of life.

Chemotherapy
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is used for patients not suitable for surgery. It can relieve symptoms and improve quality of life

Gemcitabine was approved by the US FDA after a clinical trial reported improvements in quality of life in patients with advanced pancreatic cancer

Gemcitabine may used after surgery to remove tumor tissue remaining in the body. As a result 5-year survival rates has improved.

Other drugs such as oxaliplatin and fluorouracil have also beneficial effect.

Radiation therapy
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The use of additional radiation therapy follwing surgery has been used in USA while rejected by most doctors in Europe.

What is the Prognosis of pancreatic cancer?
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The prognosis of pancreatic cancer is poor

1.because the cancer usually causes no early symptoms resulting in advanced or metastatic disease at the time of diagnosis.

2.Median survival from diagnosis is around 3-4 months;

3.5-year survival is lower than 5%.

4.Pancreatic cancer has the highest mortality of all the cancers.

5.Pancreatic cancer may sometimes cause diabetes.

How to prevent Pancreatic Cancer?
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1.a healthy lifesyle

2.increase consumption of fruits, vegetables

3.reduce red meat intake

4.Vitamin D can reduce the risk of pancreatic cancer

5.B vitamins such as B12, B6, and folate in food but not in tablets may reduce the risk of pancreatic cancer

6.Avoid smoking and drinking of alcohol