By: Austin LaRocca & Justice Davila 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 60-80) 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 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, 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, glycogen, somatostatin and other various peptides. Also, in order to neutralize the acidic chyme of the GI track it produces a isosmotic fluid containing bicarbonate.

Genes Related and Risks 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.

Symptoms and Complications 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. With all these 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, lab results show high concentrations of bile and liver enzymes, but this practice is not an official practice. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1yOs5u1ABQ&feature=related

Cancer in the Pancreas Malignant – rapid, disorderly, and metastasis. Benign – slow, less serious, orderly, and no metastasis. 95% pancreatic cancer starts in the exocrine. However, the least common cancer cells are the acinar cells. About 90% of the time the cancer cell are the ductal cells. The ductal 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) These cancer cells are called carcinomas. Which sometimes arise in the 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.

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 no 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 are 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.

Treatments Surgery can be an option for smaller tumors, but it is very hard to rid of every cancer cell and some case involve resecting parts of other organs including 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) 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.

Awareness Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Foundation November is pancreatic cancer awareness month

Works Cited www.pancreatica.org http://www.cancer.net/patient/All+About+Cancer/Genetics/The+Genetics+of+Pancreatic+Cancer www.cancer.gov