Pancreatic Cancer Research Paper

Pancreatic cancer begins in the tissues of the pancreas, the pancreas secretes enzymes that aid digestion and hormones that help regulate sugars. Cancer begins to form when a cell in the pancreas begins to reproduce uncontrollably and crowds out normal cells.
The cause of pancreatic cancer is difficult to pinpoint because cancer is a mutation of the DNA, but can be partially explained by mutations inherited through parents and someone's exposure to carcinogens, cancer causing chemicals. Inherited genetic syndrome and even personal or family history of pancreatic cancer increases your risk of getting cancer. Carcinogen exposure through cigarette smoke is the most important risk factor for pancreatic cancer, but exposure in the workplace such
as dry cleaning and metalworking industries can also increase the risk of mutation of the DNA and result in cancer. Other factors that may increase your risk of pancreatic cancer include: excessive body weight, diabetes, chronic inflammation of the pancreas, cirrhosis of the liver, being over the age of 45, and being African-American.
Pancreatic cancer is hard to detect early, symptoms are usually only visible when the cancer has already spread to other organs. Signs and symptoms of pancreatic cancer are: upper abdominal pain that radiates to your back, yellowing of your skin and the whites of your eyes, loss of appetite, weight loss, depression, and blood clots.
Diagnostic tests used to find pancreatic cancer include imaging testing, blood tests, and biopsy.
Some examples of imaging testing would be computed tomography (CT) scan, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), abdominal or endoscopic ultrasounds, cholangiopancreatography, angiography, and positron emission tomography (PET) scan. Blood diagnostic tests that measure carcinoembryonic antigens, like the CA 19-9, and pancreatic hormone levels such as glucose, insulin, and C-peptide are used to check blood levels and can help determine if there is a tumor present. Biopsy is the removing of a small section of tumor and looking at it under a microscope, the biopsy is then interpreted by a pathologist to determine whether the tumor is
cancerous.
To treat pancreatic cancer your age and the location and stage of the cancer must all be taken into consideration.
Surgery is ideal if the cancer is confined to the pancreas, if the tumor is located at the top of the pancreas then removal of the head of the pancreas should be considered. If the tumor is found in the body or tail of the pancreas a pancreatectomy, removal of the tail of the pancreas and possibly a small part of the body, should be looked into under these circumstances. Radiation therapy uses high-energy beams to kill cancer cells, like X-Rays. Chemotherapy are cancer killing drugs that can be taken orally or injected into a vein; chemotherapy is ideal when the pancreatic cancer has metastasized. A few other treatments for pancreatic cancer include ablation, embolization, targeted therapy, and clinical
trials.
Some complications that can occur as pancreatic cancer progresses are jaundice, pain, bowel obstruction, and weight loss. Jaundice can occur when the cancerous tumor obstructs the liver’s bile duct causing the yellowing it the skin and eyes. Pain becomes present when the tumor begins to push against the nerves in the abdomen, procedures may be done when the pain is very extreme. The flow of digested food can be blocked when pancreatic cancer has spread to the small intestine or presses against it keeping the food backed up in the stomach. Even though weight loss can result from many causes, pancreatic cancer can cause complications like nausea and vomiting or may make it difficult to eat.
Even though pancreatic survival rates have improved in the last decade, pancreatic cancer is still considered incurable. Progression of pancreatic cancer that can’t be cured leads to growing pain, weakness and weight loss; some measures can be taken to manage some of the pain like various drugs and surgery. According to the American Cancer Society the one-year survival rate is 20% and the five-year survival rate is 7%. In most cases when resection (removal or all or part of an organ or tissue) is possible the median survival rate is 23-36 months.
Pancreatic cancer is the leading cause of cancer death because there are so many things we have yet to figure out. With tricky diagnoses and causes pancreatic cancer could easily infect anyone. Everyone must stay alert, choose a healthy diet, and stop any harmful habits.