Patients diagnosed with pancreatic cancer typically have a poor prognosis partly because the cancer usually causes no symptoms early on, leading to locally advanced or metastatic disease at time of diagnosis. Median survival from diagnosis is around 3 to 6 months; 5-year survival is less than 5%.^[41] With 37,170 cases diagnosed in the United States in 2007, and 33,700 deaths, pancreatic cancer has one of the highest fatality rates of all cancers and is the fourth highest cancer killer in the United States among both men and women.

Although it accounts for only 2.5% of new cases, pancreatic cancer is responsible for 6% of cancer deaths each year.

Pancreatic cancer may occasionally result in diabetes. Insulin production is hampered and it has been suggested that the cancer can also prompt the onset of diabetes and vice versa. diabetes is both a risk factor for the development of pancreatic cancer and diabetes can be an early sign of the disease in the elderly.

Pancreatic cancer biology and genetics.

The pancreas is comprised of separate functional units that regulate two major physiological processes: digestion and glucose . The exocrine pancreas consists of acinar and duct cells. The acinar cells produce digestive enzymes and constitute the bulk of the pancreatic tissue. They are organized into grape-like clusters that are at the smallest termini of the branching duct system. The ducts, which add mucous and bicarbonate to the enzyme mixture, form a network of increasing size, culminating in main and accessory pancreatic ducts that empty into the duodenum. The endocrine pancreas, consisting of four specialized cell types that are organized into compact islets embedded within acinar tissue, secretes hormones into the bloodstream. The - and -cells regulate the usage of glucose through the production of glucagon and insulin, respectively. Pancreatic polypeptide and somatostatin that are produced in the PP and -cells modulate the secretory properties of the other pancreatic cell types. a | Gross anatomy of the pancreas. b | The exocrine pancreas. c | A single acinus. d | A pancreatic islet embedded in exocrine tissue.

Related Posts Widget