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Pancreatic cancer: Causes, Symptoms & Treatment

Dr. Sanketh Kotne, Consultant Medical Oncologist, HCG Cancer Centre Vizag

The pancreas is a vital organ that regulates blood sugar levels in our body. Pancreatic cancer/pancreatic adenocarcinoma is the formation of cancer cells in the ducts of the pancreas. Sometimes cancer can be formed in hormone-producing cells of the pancreas which are also called neuroendocrine tumors.

It is a rare cancer site and is a very aggressive cancer with a poor prognosis. These poor outcomes are possible because the disease presents asymptomatically in the early stages and by the time symptoms develop, the disease is in a very advanced stage. Hence, it’s also called a silent disease.

What are the causes of pancreatic cancer?

What are the Symptoms?

What are the treatment options in treating pancreatic cancer?

Treating any cancer patient requires different types of doctors and other health care professionals who work together and come up with a treatment plan that combines different types of treatments. This is called a multidisciplinary team approach.

The current treatment options for pancreatic cancer are:

All these treatment options and recommendations depend on several factors like the type and stage of cancer, possible side effects, and finally the patient’s preferences and overall health.

A biopsy and histological confirmation are mandatory before proceeding with the treatment. A baseline blood investigation and imaging with PET CT or a Contrast CT are mandatory. All patients should be staged, and risk should be assessed at diagnosis. Patients are then classified as resectable, borderline resectable, locally advanced, or metastatic based on the imaging at diagnosis.

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