2023’s World Pancreatic Cancer Day: Causes, Signs, and Risks; Treatment and Prevention

The pancreas is an organ situated beneath the stomach that also generates hormones, including those that control blood sugar levels, and digestive fluids to aid in the breakdown of food. Dr. G Vamshi Krishna Reddy, Director of Oncology Services, Yashoda Hospitals Hyderabad Consultant Medical Oncologist & Hemato Oncologist, states that pancreatic cancer is one of the world’s most common cancer causes and typically has a severe clinical course.
Causes and Risk Elements:
There are many risk factors linked to pancreatic cancer:

Smoking cigarettes: Smoking cigarettes raises the risk of pancreatic cancer, and the risk rises with cigarette use.

Obesity: a BMI of more than 30 kg/m2 raises the chance

Lack of Exercise

Diabetes Mellitus: A number of epidemiologic research have shown a correlation between pancreatic cancer and diabetes mellitus. The idea that aberrant insulin resistance, hyperinsulinemia, and glucose metabolism are etiologic factors for pancreatic cancer is being more and more supported by evidence. When a thin older adult develops new-onset diabetes, a CT scan should be performed to rule out pancreatic cancer.

Fibrosis cystic

The pancreas cysts

persistent pancreatitis

Heredity and family history: 5–10% of instances happen in families, indicating a hereditary propensity.

Complaints:

Abdominal discomfort and weight loss, with or without jaundice, are common symptoms in patients with pancreatic cancer.

One typical symptom is pain.

Some individuals lose weight as a result of having little appetites and feeling content after consuming little food.

The skin and eyes become yellow when someone has jaundice. A obstruction in the bile flow that travels from the liver and gallbladder to the gut is the cause of jaundice. The cancer is what is causing the obstruction.

Avoidance

Here are some pointers to lower your chance of developing pancreatic cancer:

Don’t smoke

Mild physical exercise

Retain a healthy weight and aim for a BMI of less than 25 kg/m2.

Diet: Consume more fruits, vegetables, whole grains, milk, legumes, and oils (found in fish, nuts, and seeds as well as nonhydrogenated vegetable oils); consume less added sugar, alcohol, salt, saturated fat, and calories from solid fat.

Progress in medical care:

Surgery is often an effective treatment for pancreatic malignancies in stages I or II, which are the early stages. The surgical treatment of pancreatic cancer is increasingly using robotic surgery.

In cases of locally advanced pancreatic cancer when surgery is not practical, radiation treatment using cutting-edge methods such as MR-LINAC or SBRT is employed.

When pancreatic cancer reaches an advanced stage, chemotherapy is employed. In some individuals with BRCA1/2 mutations and mismatch repair deficiencies, respectively, more recent treatments like as immunotherapy and targeted therapy with PARP inhibitors are helpful.