Pancreatic Cancer

Pancreatic Cancer

Oncological Surgery

Pancreas; It is an organ adjacent to the bile ducts, gallbladder, liver, duodenum, large intestine and stomach. It consists of head, neck, body and tail parts. Malignant masses that tend to proliferate in any part of the pancreas are called pancreatic cancer. Although cancers occurring in this organ can develop in all parts of the organ, they most commonly occur in the head region. The most common type of pancreatic cancer is adenocarcinoma.

Apart from this, endocrine tumors originating from hormone-producing cells in the pancreas are frequently encountered tumors. Since adenocarcinoma originates from aggressive cells, it can progress rapidly and metastasize to surrounding tissues.

Pancreatic Cancer Symptoms

Pancreatic cancer can progress insidiously without any symptoms in its initial stages. However, in later periods, symptoms such as weight loss, abdominal pain, jaundice, loss of appetite, nausea-vomiting, weakness, fatigue, diarrhea, digestive difficulties, back pain, glazier-colored stools, pallor, and sudden onset diabetes with no family history occur. . Patients experience rapid weight loss as a result of malnutrition along with bloating, indigestion and loss of appetite. One of the earliest and most common symptoms is jaundice.

It initially manifests itself as jaundice in the eyes, then yellowing of the skin, darkening of the urine color and turning into 'tea-coloured urine', and finally results in an abnormal lightening of the color of the stool, described as 'glazier's paste'. The cause of jaundice is the obstruction of the excretion of bilirubin produced by the liver into the duodenum as a result of obstruction of the bile duct by pancreatic cancer.

While the pain is initially defined as vague abdominal pain, a mild discomfort, it later becomes an abdominal pain that hits the back. It is often accompanied by symptoms of bloating and indigestion.

Causes of Pancreatic Cancer

Although the cause of the disease is unknown, it is more common in smokers and obese individuals. The cause of pancreatic cancer in almost 30% of patients is smoking. Pancreatic cancer due to adult type diabetes is controversial. Having a family history of cancer is also among the causes of pancreatic cancer. The disease is more common in men than women, and the risk of contracting this disease increases with age. The average age of developing pancreatic cancer worldwide is 63 for men and 67 for women.

Early diagnosis and treatment of pancreatic cancer is very important for the course of the disease. Since the disease tends to progress rapidly and aggressively, when pancreatic cancer is suspected, a rapid diagnosis should be made with advanced examinations and surgery should be performed without delay in patients suitable for surgery. While Whipple surgery is performed for cancers of the head and neck of the pancreas, distal pancreatectomy surgery is usually performed for tumors in the body and tail.