Pancreatic Cancer

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

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