Pancreatic cancer

Pancreatic cancer is cancer in the pancreas. It has a poor prognosis, with about 11% of patients surviving beyond five years after the cancer has been diagnosed.

Symptoms

Treatment

In cases of localized pancreatic disease, the surgery to remove the cancer is often the first treatment. It is typically followed by chemotherapy, often with Gemzar or 5-FU.

Pancreatic Cancer Media

The pancreas has many functions, served by the endocrine cells in the islets of Langerhans and the exocrine acinar cells. Pancreatic cancer may arise from any of these and disrupt any of their functions.
Relative incidences of various pancreatic neoplasms, with pancreatic cancers in red/pink color.
Jaundice can be a symptom, due to biliary obstruction from a pancreatic tumor.
Cross-section of a human liver, at autopsy, showing many large pale tumor deposits, that are secondary tumors derived from pancreatic cancer
Micrograph of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (the most common type of pancreatic cancer), H&E stain
Micrographs of normal pancreas, pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasia (precursors to pancreatic carcinoma) and pancreatic carcinoma, H&E stain
Progression of pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasia, including mutations.
The head, body, and tail of the pancreas: The stomach is faded out in this image to show the entire pancreas, of which the body and tail lie behind the stomach, and the neck partially behind.
Axial CT image with IV contrast and added color: Cross lines towards top left surround a macrocystic adenocarcinoma of the pancreatic head.