Pancreatic cancer

Friday 28 November, 2008

Reviewed by: Assoc Prof James St John (MBBS, MD, FRCP, FRACP, AGAF), Dr Lara Lipton (MBBS, PhD, FRACP), Dr Suzanne Kosmider (MBBS, FRACP) and Benjamin Thomson (MBBS FRACS, Consultant Hepatobiliary Surgeon, Peter MacCallum & Royal Melbourne Hospital)

On this page: The pancreas | Pancreatic cancer | Causes of pancreatic cancer | How common is pancreatic cancer?   

The pancreas

The pancreas is a thin, lumpy gland that lies between your stomach and your spine. It's normally about 13cm (six inches) long and is joined by a duct (the ‘pancreatic duct') to the first part of the small bowel (the duodenum).

The pancreas plays 2 major roles in your body's digestive system.

  1. It produces insulin, which controls the amount of sugar in your blood. If the pancreas doesn't produce enough insulin, you'll develop diabetes.
  2. Other parts of the pancreas produce substances called enzymes, which help you digest food. These enzymes pass from the pancreas into your duodenum through the pancreatic duct.

Pancreatic cancer

The most common type of pancreatic cancer is calles 'adenocarcinoma'. It begins in the lining of the pancreatic duct. It usually occurs in the head of the pancreas (see illustration), where it may obstruct the bile duct and cause jaundice. It may also spread to nearby nerves and lymph nodes and may cause pain.

Cancer that develops in the pancreas may spread via the lymphatic system or blood to other parts of the body.

Causes of pancreatic cancer

Pancreatic cancer is caused by damage to genes, but it's not known exactly why this damage happens. The risk of pancreatic cancer is greater for smokers. Other risk factors can include:

  • getting older
  • inheriting a changed gene
  • chronic pancreatitis
  • diabetes
  • gastrectomy.

How common is pancreatic cancer?

Around 560 Victorians develop a cancer of this type each year. It's more common over the age of 65 and is relatively uncommon in people under 50.

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