Pancreatic cancer occurs when an uncontrolled growth of abnormal cell in the pancreas organ. The abnormal cells form a mass called tumor. In advance level, pancreatic tumor has ability to spread to other parts or organs of the body and it is also known as malignant.
Pancreas map
There is two main type of pancreatic cancer. About 95% pancreatic cancer occurs in exocrine gland, a part of pancreas that secrets digestive juice and the rest of 5% occurs in the hormone-producing region, called endocrine gland.
Exocrine pancreatic cancer can occurs in the head, body or tail of the pancreas. If it takes place at head part, it can block on the bile duct and can block pancreatic juice to colon, causing jaundice and related symptoms, meanwhile endocrine pancreatic cancer begin in the hormone-producing part called the endocrine pancreas which are contain islet cells that produce insulin as well as other hormones. Cancer that occurs in endocrine pancreas could bug the hormone production.
Pancreatic cancer, like many type other cancer, it can spread invading organs that near around the pancreas, such as small intestine, stomach or blood vessels. In advance stage cancer cells may also break away from the tumor and metastasized or spread to other parts of the body, including lungs, liver, spleen, and organs around.
The cancers that result from spread of cells from the original tumor are still considered part of the original or “primary” cancer. For example, if pancreatic cancer spreads to the liver, the cancer cells in the liver are pancreatic cancer cells. The disease is not considered liver cancer, but rather metastatic pancreatic cancer.
The exact causes of pancreatic cancer are still largely unknown, but there are risk factors that known to increase the probability of developing these cancers such as age, gender, race, family history, smoking and other factors.
Treatment or cure to this cancer can be vary, depend to cancer stage and position, early detection and treatment will increase the survival rate of the patients
Updated: 16 Jan 2010
