Pancreas Health Article

Cancer of the pancreas

Pancreatic cancer is a major cause of death from cancer around the world. Tumors of the pancreas may arise from either endocrine or exocrine cells. Some rare types of pancreatic tumors hypersecrete either glucagon (glucagonomas) or insulin (insulinomas). Cancer of the pancreas is difficult to diagnose in its early stages; about 90% of patients present with pain, diarrhea, blood clots, weight loss, or jaundice when the cancer has already spread outside the pancreas. As of 2001, about 25,000 people die every year with this disease, and there are few medical interventions to help these patients. Under certain circumstances, chemotherapy or surgery to remove part of the pancreas may be attempted. Only 2–5% of patients are alive five years after being diagnosed.

BOOKS

"Gastrointestinal Disorders." Section 3 in The Merck Manual of Diagnosis and Therapy, edited by Mark H. Beers, MD, and Robert Berkow, MD. Whitehouse Station, NJ: Merck Research Laboratories, 1999.

Izenberg, Neil, et al. Human Disease and Conditions. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2000.

Tierney, Laurence M., Stephen J. McPhee, and Maxine A. Papadakis. Current Medical Diagnosis and Treatment 2001. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2001.

ORGANIZATIONS

American Diabetes Association. 1660 Duke Street, Alexandria, VA 22314. (800) 232-3472.

National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse. 2 Information Way, Bethesda, MD 20892. (301) 654-3810 or (800) 891-5389.

OTHER

National Institutes of Health. <http://www.niddk.nih.gov>.

Pancreas Foundation. <http://www.pancreasfoundation.org>.

Erika J. Norris