Download Pancreatic Cancer

Pancreatic Cancer
By: Austin LaRocca & Justice
Davila
A Deadly Cancer
• From 1995-2001, research shows you have only
a 4.6% chance of survival with Pancreatic
Cancer. (affecting people in the age range of 6080)
• Last year,40,000 people were diagnosed with
the cancer in the U.S. and more than twice that
in Europe. Most of these people will have died
within the first year.
• The average time of life left after diagnosis is
about three and a half months
Anatomy
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The pancreas is a sponge like organ that is part of the digestive system and
the endocrine system. It is located under the curvature of the stomach,
deep in the abdomen and close to the spleen.
There are two parts of the organ the exocrine, which is where acinar cells
produce enzymes, and the endocrine; which where islet of Langerhans cells
and neuroendocrine cells, produce hormones.
In the digestive system, it works with the liver; it produces enzymes like:
trypsin, chymotrypsin, lipase, pancreatic amylase, deoxyribonuclease, and
ribonuclease. These enzymes are transported in the small rivlets of the
pancreas and end up at the pancreatic ducts and usually end up secreted in
the duodenum.
The hormones it produces includes insulin, glucagon, somatostatin and
other various peptides.
Also, in order to neutralize the acidic chyme of the GI track it produces a
isosmotic fluid containing bicarbonate.
Cancer in the Pancreas
• Malignant – rapid, disorderly, and metastasis.
• Benign – slow, less serious, orderly, and no metastasis.
• 95% pancreatic cancer starts in the exocrine and are
adenocarcinomas. However, the least common cancer cells are the
acinar cells. About 90% of the time the cancer cell are the ductal
cells. The ductile cells are located in the head and neck of the
organ. Some arise in the body of the organ and less than 10% arise
in the tail of the organ (closest to the spleen)
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http://www.basalcellcarcinomapictures.org/images/Basal_cell_carcinoma.jpg
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http://www.gastropagina.com/Upload/atlas/Adenocarcinoma%20en%20est%C3%B3mago.jpg
• These cancer cells are forms of carcinomas. Which sometimes
arise in ductile cell lining, these cancer cells are called
adenocarcinomas. Lining cells are cells in the epithelium and are
responsible for absorption of various substances.
– The most common pancreatic adenocarcinomas, that use metastasis, are found
in the liver, peritoneum, and the lungs.
Genes Related and Risks
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Cancer arises from mutations of cells that cause abnormal cell growth, the
deactivation of DNA repair and tumor suppressor genes
Oncogenes – are cancer genes; the oncogene related in pancreatic cancer
is KRAS
– KRAS is a oncogene, found in about 95% of adenocarcinomas of the
pancreas, that encodes a protein called Kirsten Rat Sarcoma viral
oncogene homolog and signals transduction pathways and usually
tethers to the cell membrane. This protein can be encoded wrongly and
will function in way that causes cancer. The tumor suppressor genes
that deactivate 75% of the time in the pancreas are p53 and p16.
– A specific environmental factor that is evident 30% of the time is
smoking and this proves that not smoking greatly decreases your
chance of the disease.
– Being overweight can also increase your risks.
– However less than10% of the time a person is subject to secondary
genetic inheritance.
– http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1yOs5u1ABQ&feature=related
Symptoms and Complications
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Weakness
Weight loss
Pain in abdomen and lower back
Yellow skin and eyes
Leakage onto GI track
Blood clotting
Nausea and vomiting
Malnourished stool
– Without all of the enzymes that the pancreas produces, villi in the Ileum
can not absorb any macromolecules because they have not been
broken down into something digestible. In return, the villi absorb and
absorb, but our body receives no nutrients.
Pancreatic Cancer Stages
• The stages of pancreatic cancer are not official classifications. In
fact, the scales differ in different countries.
• Pancreatic cancer is usually classified by the severity of metastasis.
– Stage 1 usually refers to tumors that have not spread to any
specific area.
– Stage 2 usually refers to tumors that have spread to the
duodenum and bile ducts.
– Stage 3 usually refers to tumors that may or may not have
spread to areas further.
– Stage 4a usually refers to tumors that have spread to the
stomach, spleen, large intestine, or adjacent blood vessels.
– Stage 4b usually refers to tumors that have gone septic or
into lymph nodes.
Diagnosis and Treatments
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With all the symptoms it does take a lot to know that you should CAT scan
this person and most likely you will find cancer. However, for cancer deep in
the pancreas that can not be seen they will check lab results for high
concentrations of bile and liver enzymes, but this practice is not an official
practice.
Surgery can be an option for smaller tumors, but it is very hard to rid of
every cancer cell and some cases involve resecting parts of other organs
such as the spleen and duodenum.
Bigger tumors are more risky to surgically remove and usually is not done.
– Only 15-20% of people with pancreatic cancer are eligible for surgery.
(Whipple Operation, resection)
Chemo radiation, chemotherapy, and radiation are other options, but since
the pancreas is so deep in the abdomen and behind the stomach, radiation
is tricky.
In order to treat symptoms of the disease, stents are usually placed in order
to prevent tumors, that have branched off from the original cancer, from
collapsing various structures.
Awareness
• Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Foundation
• November is pancreatic cancer awareness
month
Works Cited
• www.pancreatica.org
• http://www.cancer.net/patient/All+About+C
ancer/Genetics/The+Genetics+of+Pancre
atic+Cancer
• www.cancer.gov