What You Should Know About Pancreatic Tumors
Pancreatic tumors are abnormal growths of cells that occur on the pancreas. They can be cancerous or benign, and functional or non-functional. They affect more than 30,000 people every year, and most of the tumors, around 90 percent, are cancerous. The typical type of cancer tumor is called an adenocarcinoma. They are fast-growing, metastatic tumors. People with them usually die within 5 to 12 moths of diagnosis. Much of the cancer's deadliness comes from its ability to spread. Cells break from the tumor and move through the body, eventually settling in inviting places. There they multiply like rats.
Other tumor types, most of them functional (hormone secreting), are glucagonomas, GNRHomas, somatostatinomas, VIPomas, insulinomas, PPomas, gastrinomas, and ACTHomas. They occur in the islet cells of the pancreas. They are named for the hormones they secrete. The symptoms of hormones when too much is secreted can sometimes be as fatal as the cancer itself. Except for the insulinomas, these types have a high probability of becoming cancerous.
Another second type of growth on the pancreas is the benign tumor. They compose a very small percent, less than 1, of all pancreatic tumors. The above mentioned tumors can be benign, but most non-cancerous tumors are cystic pancreatic tumors, called cystadenomas. Only 150 cases reported since their discovery in 1981. When they occur, it is usually in younger women. But another type of cystic tumor, the mucinous cystic neoplasm (MCN), occurs 80 percent of the time in women around 54 years of age. Neuroendocrine and mucinous cystic neoplasms can, however, mutate into cancerous growths. In a recent medical study, 64 percent of patients with MCNs had malignant cysts. The good news was that 63 percent of these were treatable. Only 22 percent had spread to other regions. This is a vast improvement over adenocarcinomas, where only 20 percent of patients have operable cancer at the time it is diagnosed.
Symptoms of pancreatic tumors, whether they be cancerous or benign, are usually similar. They start as vague and intermittent but later, as they grow, the symptoms become more pronounced. If the tumor is in the head of the pancreas, jaundice appears because the tumor blocks the bile duct. The bile builds up in the blood, eventually depositing in the skin and eyes. Itchiness is a symptom of jaundice and relates to the bile's acidic nature. Abdominal pain is the most common symptom, with + of people with pancreatic tumors suffering from it. Back pain can also occur, depending on the tumor's size and location. The pain can feel visceral. As the tumor grows in size, it pushes against nearby structures. This can include organs and nerves. The pancreas sits behind the stomach, so abdominal pain can increase after meals or while lying down. Due to its pressure against the stomach and often bile duct, a tumor can also cause vomiting, nausea, malabsorption, loss of appetite, and weight loss. Infection may also result. Pancreatic tumors are usually treated via surgical removal of parts of the pancreas. But in the many cases that are cancerous and inoperable, chemotherapy and radiation are used. Still, cancerous tumors respond very little to treatment. Though pancreatic tumors come in different forms and can be benign, most are malignant. Only with early detection and action can a sufferer improve his or her chances of surviving.
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