Download PANCREATIC CANCER - Cancer Research UK

PANCREATIC
CANCER
PIONEERING BETTER TREATMENTS
Although survival rates for many types of cancer have improved over
the years, pancreatic cancer is still particularly hard to treat – in part
because it’s often diagnosed late. That’s why research into pancreatic
cancer is one of our key priorities. Thanks to your support, we spent
around £6 million last year on our pioneering work.
WHAT IS
PANCREATIC CANCER?
The pancreas is a small gland that sits behind your stomach. It has
two important jobs – to make the digestive juices that break down
food, and to make hormones such as insulin. Cancer can develop in
any of the cells that make up the pancreas.
Symptoms of pancreatic cancer include stomach or back pain,
jaundice and weight loss. If you experience any of these symptoms
it doesn’t necessarily mean you have cancer, but it’s important to
talk to your GP about it.
Each year around 8,800 people are diagnosed with pancreatic
cancer in the UK. And it claims almost as many lives. Through our
research we want to help more people live longer.
HOW IS PANCREATIC CANCER TREATED?
Treatment is based on the patient’s overall health and how advanced
the cancer is. If possible, surgeons will remove the cancer and
follow up with chemotherapy. If the cancer has spread, doctors will
usually advise chemotherapy and occasionally radiotherapy too.
They may also offer surgery to help relieve symptoms, or
recommend joining a clinical trial.
Have you got questions about cancer?
Visit cruk.org/cancer-help or call our specialist
cancer nurses on 0808 800 4040
Pancreatic
cancer remains
challenging to
treat – but we’re
working hard to
change this
WHAT
COULD
AFFECT
YOUR RISK?
60+
More than eight in 10 cases occur in
people aged 60 and over.
Smoking causes more than one in four
cases of pancreatic cancer.
Being overweight, particularly having lots
of abdominal fat, increases the risk.
Heavy alcohol consumption may increase
the risk, as might a diet high in red meat.
Having radiotherapy in the past can slightly
increase the risk.
Other medical conditions, such as
diabetes, can increase the risk.
OUR SCIENCE CHANGES LIVES
Our clinical trials have improved the outlook for people with pancreatic cancer across the world,
but better treatments are urgently needed.
YASMIN FROM LONDON SUPPORTS OUR RESEARCH
My dad Shaukat started to feel unwell - he was having digestion trouble and
had lost a lot of weight. Tests revealed he had pancreatic cancer. He was quickly given
chemotherapy and responded well at first, but then the symptoms returned and scans
showed the tumour had grown. He had treatment to relieve the symptoms and he fought
hard, but I lost my dad to this devastating disease just 18 months after his diagnosis.
Cancer Research UK t: +44 (0)20 7242 0200
Registered charity in England and Wales (1089464), Scotland (SC041666) and the Isle of Man (1103).
For information on pancreatic cancer research, stats,
signs & symptoms and treatment, go to cruk.org
MAKING
A DIFFERENCE
We
receive no
government
funding
for our
research
Thanks to our research, treatment for pancreatic cancer
has improved and is helping patients live longer. But
much more needs to be done - boosting research into
pancreatic cancer is a top priority for us.
PROFESSOR ANDREW BIANKIN IN
GLASGOW TELLS US HIS STORY
Pancreatic cancer, the silent killer, claims
too many lives – including that of my mentor and
friend of many years. It’s a very diverse disease
which may explain why we have failed to make
big improvements in treatment so far. To make
progress we need to be able to identify the faulty
molecules driving different types of the disease,
in order to tailor treatments better. That’s why
I’m researching how to personalise treatment for
pancreatic cancer, so that the right drug is given
to the right patient.
CHANGING TREATMENTS
GLOBALLY
CREATING MORE
TOMORROWS
We funded the largest ever trial for
people with operable pancreatic
cancer, which showed that giving
patients chemotherapy after
surgery reduces their risk of the
cancer returning, or delays it.
We funded the first trial to show
that a new combination of
chemotherapy drugs, capecitabine
and gemcitabine, can help people
with advanced pancreatic cancer
live longer.
PIONEERING SCIENCE
IMPROVING TREATMENTS
Our scientists have made key
breakthroughs by revealing the role
played by healthy cells surrounding
the tumour. This could lead to new
approaches to treating the disease.
Our researchers have discovered
important molecular signposts that
might help doctors decide the best
course of treatment for people
with pancreatic cancer.
OUR PROGRESS IS YOUR PROGRESS
We are tackling pancreatic cancer by unravelling the root causes of the disease and carrying out clinical trials to improve treatments.
Liverpool: Professor John Neoptolemos is leading
clinical trials to find the best chemotherapy to give
to patients. He’s testing whether a combination of
drugs might increase survival compared to a single
drug.
Cambridge: Professor Duncan Jodrell is finding
new ways to treat pancreatic cancer by blocking
crucial processes in cancer cells. He is leading an
important trial testing whether combining drugs
enhances their cancer-killing effect.
Liverpool: Professor Paula Ghaneh is testing whether
having chemotherapy before surgery improves
survival for patients, and which drugs are best. She’s
also looking for molecular signposts that might reveal
who would benefit most from this treatment.
Manchester: Dr Claus Jorgensen is studying the way pancreatic
cancer cells communicate with healthy cells. He is hoping to
identify key signals that help tumours grow and spread around
the body. Working out how this goes awry in cancer might lead
to new ways to treat the disease.
Glasgow: Dr Jurre Kamphorst is investigating how
pancreatic cancer interacts with surrounding cells
and tissues, and what fuels its growth, to help find
new approaches to target this cancer.
Glasgow: Professor Jeff Evans is testing new
drugs that make the tumour more sensitive to
radiotherapy, to try and make treatments more
effective for patients.
July 2014
Find out more: download other research leaflets
in this series at cruk.org/researchleaflets