“If detected early, pancreatic cancer could be controlled with surgery and chemotherapy, we are talking about a lesion measuring less than 2 cm, but future recurrence is frequent. Currently, the management of pancreatic tumors is multidisciplinary, where the experience of the oncologist, pancreatic surgeon, gastroenterologist, and radiotherapist converge, to increase the patient’s quality of life and also life expectancy”, says Dr. Augusto Vera, gastroenterologist of our clinic and president of the Inter-American Society of Digestive Endoscopy – SIED, who shares valuable information with us about this disease.

What are the causes of pancreatic cancer?

• There is no defined cause, but there are risk factors associated with certain genes that cannot be modified. It also responds to some habits such as smoking, alcohol consumption, and obesity, factors that could be modified.
• It is highly associated with diseases such as diabetes and breast cancer.
• There is a factor associated with diets rich in saturated fats and excessive alcohol consumption.
• This type of cancer can be hereditary. First-degree relatives of patients with pancreatic cancer should be constantly monitored.

Symptoms

Initially, it does not cause any discomfort, so prevention is important. The most frequent symptoms are:

• Abdominal pain radiating to the back
• Weight loss
• Yellowing of the skin and eyes when the tumor grows in the region of the head of the pancreas.

What types of pancreatic cancer are there?

If we talk about malignant tumors, the main type is adenocarcinoma; then come neuroendocrine, malignant cystic neoplasms, and further away we have lymphomas and metastatic lesions.

How is it diagnosed?

It is always important to define the clinical picture and then confirm it with blood tests. These tests will show us if there are signs of biliary obstruction and we must associate it with a tumor marker called Ca199; then, the objective is to identify the lesion using a contrasted tomography.

In urgent cases, we can start with an abdominal ultrasound, which has its limitations when the tumor is smaller than 2cm.

Remember:

• Any disease detected early can be managed and controlled. The management of these neoplasms is complicated when the patient arrives at the doctor’s office with many symptoms, reflecting advanced stages of the disease.
• Do not miss annual preventive check-ups.
• Modify unhealthy lifestyles and in case of any digestive symptoms go to a specialist.

Dr. Augusto Vera
Gastroenterologist of our clinic and president of the Inter-American Society of Digestive Endoscopy – SIED