Pancreatic cancer

Rare card · No. 16411

Pancreatic cancer is any cancer with a primary location in the pancreas, a glandular organ lying behind the stomach. It arises when cells in the pancreas start to multiply out of control and form a mass. These cancerous cells have the ability to invade or spread to other parts of the body. A number of types of pancreatic cancer are known. The most common type of pancreatic cancer, pancreatic adenocarcinoma, accounts for about 90% of cases, and the term "pancreatic cancer" is sometimes used to refer only to that type. These adenocarcinomas start within the ductal part of the pancreas that makes digestive enzymes. Several other types of cancer, which collectively represent the majority of the non-adenocarcinomas, can also arise from these cells. About 1–2% of cases of pancreatic cancer are neuroendocrine tumors, which arise from the hormone-producing cells of the pancreas. These are generally less aggressive than pancreatic adenocarcinoma. Signs and symptoms of the most-common form of pancreatic...

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