Pancreatic cancer is now the fourth leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States for both men and women.
According to the American Cancer Society's most recent estimates for pancreatic cancer in the United States are for 2009:- 42,470 new cases of pancreatic cancer
- 35,240 deaths from pancreatic cancer
The lifetime risk of having pancreatic cancer is about 1 in 76. It is about the same for both men and women.
No one knows the exact causes of pancreatic cancer. Doctors can seldom explain why one person gets pancreatic cancer and another does not. However, it is clear that this disease is not contagious. No one can "catch" cancer from another person.
This page has been compiled to help you learn more about the latest in pancreatic cancer treatments and research advances. If you have individual questions about pancreatic cancer, call the Cancer AnswerLine at 800-865-1125 and speak directly to a cancer nurse.
Risk Factors
Research has shown that people with certain risk factors are more likely than others to develop pancreatic cancer. A risk factor is anything that increases a person's chance of developing a disease. Studies have found the following risk factors:
Age -- The likelihood of developing pancreatic cancer increases with age. Most pancreatic cancers occur in people over the age of 60.
Smoking -- Cigarette smokers are two or three times more likely than nonsmokers to develop pancreatic cancer.
Diabetes -- Pancreatic cancer occurs more often in people who have diabetes than in people who do not.
Being male -- More men than women are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
Being African American -- African Americans are more likely than Asians, Hispanics, or whites to get pancreatic cancer.
Family history -- The risk for developing pancreatic cancer triples if a person's mother, father, sister, or brother had the disease. Also, a family history of colon or ovarian cancer increases the risk of pancreatic cancer.
Chronic pancreatitis -- Chronic pancreatitis is a painful condition of the pancreas. Some evidence suggests that chronic pancreatitis may increase the risk of pancreatic cancer.
Articles
Pancreatic cancer is an abnormal growth of the cells of the pancreatic duct; the tube that drains the juices made by the pancreas to aid digestion in the small intestine. The pancreas also makes hormones, such as insulin and glucagon. The hormones go directly into the bloodstream to help the body use and store the energy it gets from food. The pancreas is located behind the stomach.
Only about 3 percent of people with pancreatic cancer live more than five years after diagnosis. There are several reasons why this type of cancer is so lethal:
Pancreatic cancer is aggressive. Not only is it much more aggressive than other types of cancer, it's also quicker to metastasize or spread to other parts of the body.
Second, Pancreatic cancer is usually not diagnosed until it's in an advanced stage.
Third, unlike other types of cancer, pancreatic cancer responds very poorly to current chemotherapy and radiation treatments.
Read more about pancreatic cancer -- this link opens in the University of Michigan Health System's Healthwise knowledgebase.
Read about Diagnosing pancreatic cancer.
Information on what you can expect if you choose treatment at the U-M Comprehensive Cancer Center is on our Treatment web page.
Learn about Stem Cells in Pancreatic Cancer.
Listen to the podcast of
the discovery of pancreatic cancer stem cells!
