By Admin at 2 Nov 2015, 15:10 PM

November is Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month. Unfortunately, the spotlight on pancreatic cancer reveals disturbing statistics that illustrate just how far we have to go in beating this “silent” disease:

• Pancreatic cancer is now the fourth leading cause of cancer death in the U.S., and is expected to become the second deadliest by 2020.
• Pancreatic cancer has a five-year relative survival rate of just 6 percent.
• An estimated 73 percent of patients will die in the first year of diagnosis.
• Based on the changing demographics of the U.S. population and changes in the incidence rate and death rate, the number of new cases of pancreatic cancer will increase more than 2-fold and the number of deaths will increase 2.4-fold by the year 2030.

Cancer of the pancreas is sometimes called a “silent” disease because symptoms are not usually present in early stages. Also, because the pancreas is hidden behind other organs, health care providers cannot see or feel the tumors during routine exams. By the time a person has symptoms, the cancer is usually large and has spread to other organs. This is the main reason that people with this cancer often have a poor outlook.

Symptoms that do develop are often vague. Individuals may experience different symptoms depending on the location, type and stage of the tumor. Symptoms that commonly lead to diagnosis include:

• Jaundice
• Abdominal and/or back pain
• Unexplained weight loss and loss of appetite

A person with advanced pancreatic cancer may also experience a buildup of fluid in the abdominal cavity and blood clots. Blood clots most often form in the legs and may easily go unnoticed. Symptoms such as fatigue, weakness, digestive difficulties and depression may occur at any time. Risk factors include:

• Smoking
• Being over the age of 60
• Family history of pancreatic cancer
• Chronic pancreatitis
• African-American decent
• Having diabetes
• Obesity
• Physical inactivity

Treatment

There are several methods of treatment for people with pancreatic cancer, depending on the type and stage of the cancer. Treatment may include surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, biological therapies and/or complementary and alternative therapies. Chemotherapy or other drug therapies are typically offered to patients whose tumors cannot be removed surgically.

The National Comprehensive Cancer Network’s Guidelines for the treatment of pancreatic cancer states that clinical trials are the preferred option for treatment. High priority research areas being explored for pancreatic cancer include:

• Identifying biomarkers for early detection using registries of patients with a family history of pancreatic cancer
• Developing drugs that target specific gene mutations
• Understanding how the tumor microenvironment alters drug delivery
• Harnessing the immune system for the treatment of pancreatic cancer

Gateway-Funded Clinical Trials for Pancreatic Cancer

Treating Pancreatic Cancer with Gemcitabine, Ascorbate and Radiation
Dr. David A Boothman, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PAD) cancer is a terrible and lethal disease, with a 5-year survival rate of < 6%. Fortunately, it has been determined that there may be a way to exploit a stark difference between the cancer cells and the normal cells. In 85% of the cancerous pancreas tissues removed surgically, an enzyme named NQO1 is present in much larger amounts than that found in healthy pancreatic tissue. Read more…

Treating Pancreatic Cancer with Gemcitabine, Ascorbate and Radiation
Dr. Joseph Cullen, University of Iowa College of Medicine

This study hopes to identify a way to make cancer cells more vulnerable to radiation therapy in patients with inoperable pancreatic tumors. This entirely new approach evaluates whether high doses of Vitamin C that is delivered by IV during irradiation can weaken the cancer cells by causing hydrogen peroxide to increase inside the cells. Read more…

Learn more about pancreatic cancer and help raise awareness by sharing this post and video from the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network.

Sources:
PanCan.org
American Cancer Society
PubMed
National Cancer Institute
National Library of Medicine

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