Pancreatic Cancer

Pancreatic Cancer Introduction, Pictures & Types

Pancreatic cancer is a form of cancer that occurs and develops within the pancreas tissues when cancerous cells grow and divide abnormally, resulting in tumors. Pancreatic cancer often spreads rapidly and is difficult to diagnose in its early stages due to a lack of obvious symptoms which are more prevalent in other types of cancers. Unfortunately, these symptoms don't become noticable until the cancer is in an advanced stage.

The pancreas is a spongy organ located deep within the abdomen behind the lower part of the stomach. It has a pear-like shape, with a wide head (located behind the right side of the abdomen), a tapering body (located behind the stomach) and a narrow tail (located in the left side of the abdomen, close to the spleen). Its function in the body is: (1) to produce digestive juices and enzymes that help the body to digest fats, proteins, and carbohydrates from the food and (2) to secret hormones that regulate the process how the body stores and uses the food.

The two main hormones secreted by the pancreas are: insulin, that tends to reduce the glucose level from the blood, and glucagon, that tends to increase the sugar level from blood.

Each of the two main functions of the pancreas are played by two different types of glands. The enzymes are produced by the exocrine glands and the hormones are secreted by the endocrine glands.

Types

The majority of the pancreas cells are exocrine glands (95 percent), which is the reason why about 95 percent of the pancreatic tumor develops within the exocrine cells and duct cells. This type of cancer is known in medical terms as adenocarcinomas. Adenocarcinomas are malignant tumors where cancerous cells are arranged in a gland-like pattern.

There are two forms of adenocarcinomas:

1. Adenocarcinomas that develop within the ducts cells are the most common type of exocrine cancer, about 90 percent. The duct is a thin tube that connects the pancreas to the small intestine and carries the pancreatic juice into the small intestine.

2. Adenocarcinomas that develop within the acinar cells are a less common type of exocrine cancer, about 5 percent. The acinar cells are the exocrine cells that produce the pancreatic enzymes.

It's also important to note that 75-percent of pancreatic cancer cases develop in the head and neck of the pancreas and only 25-percent in the tail and body of the pancreas.

The second form of pancreatic cancer develops within the endocrine cells in about 5 percent of cases. This type of cancer is called neuroendocrine tumors or islet cell carcinomas. The islet cells are the endocrine cells that secretes the hormones that adjust the sugar level in the blood.

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Article by Alina Morrow, MS
Medical Writer
OmniMedicalSearch.com

Page Covers: What is pancreatic cancer?

Location of Pancreas in relation to adjacent organs.

Illustration of pancreatic tumors.

Artist rendering of a nonspecific tumor.

Artist rendering of a nonspecific tumor.

Three rendered Illustrations of how cancer cells appear. The lower right is an actual cancer cell under high-scale magnification.

Pancreatic Cancer Pictures from our Medical Image Search Engine

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