Pancreatic tumors are growths arising from the pancreas. The great majority are ductal adenocarcinomas, cancers of the cells that line the ducts carrying digestive enzymes; the much smaller group that arises from the hormone-producing cells behaves differently. The term pancreatic cancer usually refers to ductal adenocarcinoma. Despite being an uncommon cancer, it is one of the leading causes of cancer death, and what makes it distinctive is its timing: it causes few symptoms while it is small and operable, so most people are diagnosed only once the tumour has invaded nearby vessels or spread.
Understanding pancreatic cancer means answering a series of separate questions.
Where to start
- Epidemiology — how common pancreatic cancer is, who develops it, and how its incidence is changing.
- Risk Factors — the fixed and modifiable factors that raise the chance of developing it, including smoking and diabetes.
- Pathophysiology — the stepwise genetic changes that turn a non-malignant precursor into invasive cancer.
- Pathology — the tumour types, their grading, and where they invade and spread.
- Clinical Features — how the cancer presents, and why the presentation depends on where the tumour sits.
- Diagnosis — the imaging, confirmation and assessment of resectability.
- Treatment — surgery with chemotherapy for removable disease, and what is offered when surgery is not possible.
- Prognosis — what stage and resectability mean for survival.
- Screening — why screening is limited to defined high-risk groups.
If you are new to the topic, the epidemiology and risk factors give the context for everything that follows. If you already know the disease and want the practical picture, the clinical features, diagnosis and treatment carry it directly.