Pancreatic Cancer – Vitamin D Decreases Risk Up TO 50%!
INTRODUCTION: Pancreatic cancer is a condition in which malignant (cancer) cells are produce in the tissues of the pancreas a large organ that lies horizontally behind the lower part of your stomach. It is difficult to find and diagnose for the following reasons: There aren’t any obvious signs or symptoms in its beginning stages. It typically spreads (metastasizes) quickly and is seldom detected in its early stages, which is a primary reason why it’s a leading cause of cancer deaths. Pancreatic cancer often has a poor prognosis (outcome), even when diagnosed early and may occasionally result in diabetes.
TYPES: Several different kinds of cancer can develop in the pancreas. The pancreas contains two different kinds of glands: exocrine and endocrine. The exocrine cells and endocrine cells of the pancreas produce completely different types of tumors. These are far and away the most common kinds of cancer of the pancreas.
Less common kinds of ductal cancers of the exocrine pancreas include adenosquamous carcinomas, squamous cell carcinomas, and giant cell carcinomas. These kinds are distinguished from one another based on how they appear under the microscope. But the type of exocrine pancreatic cancer isn’t as important as the stage (extent) of the cancer when it comes to treating the malignancy.
SYMPTOMS: Early diagnosis is difficult because the symptoms are usually non-specific and varied. Common symptoms include pain in the upper abdomen that typically radiates to the back and is relieved by leaning forward (seen in carcinoma of the body or tail of the pancreas), loss of appetite, significant weight loss and painless jaundice related to bile duct obstruction (carcinoma of the head of the pancreas).
The disease is usually discovered during the course of the evaluation of aforementioned symptoms. Patients diagnosed with it typically have a poor prognosis partly because the cancer usually causes no symptoms early on, leading to locally advanced or metastatic disease at the time of diagnosis. Signs and symptoms may not appear until the cancer is quite advanced and surgical removal isn’t possible.
Persons with the condition typically report the gradual onset of nonspecific symptoms such as lack of appetite, malaise, nausea, fatigue, and midepigastric or back pain. These initial signs can easily be caused by other processes unless a physician has a high index of suspicion for the possibility of underlying pancreatic carcinoma. Delayed diagnosis is a common problem in people with pancreatic cancer, with fewer than a third of patients being diagnosed within two months of the onset of their symptoms. All of these symptoms can have numerous other causes.
RISK: Age is the greatest risk factor for pancreatic carcinoma. Risk factors include smoking, certain familial cancer syndromes, and familial chronic pancreatitis. Smoking tobacco is the most common environmental risk factor for pancreatic carcinoma. Cigarette smoking almost doubles one’s risk, and the risk persists for at least ten years after quitting.
Numerous studies including one published on 1 June 2007, indicate that B vitamins such as B12, B6, and folate, can lower the risk of pancreatic cancer when consumed in food, but NOT when consumed in vitamin tablet form. In September 2006, a long-term study concluded that taking Vitamin D can considerably cut the risk of pancreatic carcinoma (as well as other cancers) by up to 50 percent.
Obesity has been identified as a potential risk factor for cancer of the pancreas and may add to the higher incidence of this disease among blacks. Alcohol consumption does not seem to be an independent risk factor unless it is associated with chronic pancreatitis. Also, in spite of early reports to the contrary, drinking coffee does not appear to be an independent risk factor for pancreatic carcinoma.
TREATMENT: The first goal of pancreatic cancer treatment is to eliminate the cancer, when possible. Treatment depends on the stage and location of the cancer as well as on your age, overall health and personal preferences.
Surgical resectioning is the only potentially curative treatment for those with Cancer of the pancreas, although many are not candidates for resectioning. When the disease is advanced and treatments aren’t likely to produce any benefits, your physician may suggest ways to ease symptoms and make you as comfortable as possible Or…your doctor may recommend a combination of radiation and chemotherapy treatments when your cancer can’t be surgically treated.
Clinical trials are studies to test new kinds of treatment, such as new drugs, new approaches to surgery or radiation treatments, and novel methods such as gene therapy. If the treatment being studied turns out to be safer or more effective than are treatments currently used, it will become the new standard of care.
New treatments currently under investigation in clinical trials include: Drugs that stop cancer from growing new blood vessels. Cancer treatment vaccines using various strategies to enhance the immune system to help it recognize cancer cells as intruders.
CONCLUSION: Pancreatic cancer is a malignant tumor of the pancreas. It is difficult to detect (find) and diagnose early and is usually diagnosed with tests and procedures that produce pictures of the pancreas and the area around it. Risk factors include: Age, Male gender, African-American ethnicity, Smoking, Diets high in red meat, Obesity, Diabetes mellitus.
Also: Chronic pancreatitis has been linked, but is not known to be causal, Helicobacter pylori infection, Occupational exposure to various pesticides, dyes, and chemicals related to gasoline, Family history, 5-10 percent of patients have a familial history of pancreatic cancer. Alcohol might also be a risk factor. The disease has a 5 year survival rate of less than 5 percent, and at present there is no effective chemotherapy or radiation therapy for it.
