Pancreatic cancer is a common malignancy that is treatable if diagnosed early but is rarely curable. Diagnosis is usually not possible until symptoms appear and by that time the cancer is often well advanced. Because the pancreas is a deep organ resting close to the backbone and involving vital structures, and because tumors often produce few early symptoms, this cancer is not easily diagnosed at a possibly curable stage. Only rarely can pancreatic cancers be removed surgically.
Pancreatic cancer is the fifth most common cause of cancer deaths in the United States. In 1994, there will be 27,000 new cases and 25,900 deaths. For unknown reasons, the number of cases is increasing every year, especially in industrialized countries.
Types Ninety percent of pancreatic cancers are adenocarcinomas. These develop in the exocrine glands that produce enzymes that travel through the pancreatic duct to the small intestine to aid digestion. Adenosquamous, undifferentiated , small cell carcinomas, cystadenocarcinomas, and lymphomas are rare. The other cancers of the pancreas develop in the pancreatic endocrine or islet glands, which produce hormones such as insulin that are released directly into the bloodstream ( see "Islet Cell and Other Pancreatic Carcinomas" ).
