Pancreatic cancer

Pancreatic cancer (pancreatic cancer, English: cancer) refers to cancer that occurs in the pancreas, located in the back of the stomach.

The pancreas is at the back of the stomach, in the middle of the body, and is about 20cm long. It is surrounded by organs such as stomach, duodenum, small intestine, large intestine, liver, gallbladder, spleen, and it is difficult to find cancer because of such position. The main role is to make a digestive fluid called pancreatic juice and to make hormones. Most of the pancreatic cancer occurs in the cells of the pancreatic duct that carry the pancreatic juice. Usually, pancreatic cancer refers to pancreatic cancer. In addition, cystic adenocarcinoma (adenocarcinoma) and endocrine tumors can also occur. In the Republic of Korea, cancer of the 10th incidence rate is expected to increase further as western-style meals become more common. The incidence is high in areas where meat-intensive meals are frequent. It occurs mostly in men and mainly in 50s or 60s. In most cases, the disease can not survive only 4 to 8 months after the onset, and the prognosis is not good. Even if symptoms improve after successful operation, the survival rate is less than 17-24% over 5 years. Celebrities who have died of this disease include Luciano Pavarotti, world famous vocalist, actress Kim Joo-seung and actor Patrick Wayne Swage.

Symptom It is difficult to detect early because symptoms do not appear at first. Loss of appetite, loss of weight, and other symptoms, but not in pancreatic cancer. As the disease develops from the earliest days, jaundice, itching, and urine color change (darkening) appear in the white and yellow of the body and eyes. In addition, changes in bowel habits appear, symptoms of vomiting and anorexia.

Cause It is known that dietary factors such as smoking, coffee, drinking, and meat-eating meals are caused by diabetes, chronic pancreatitis, and idiopathic colorectal cancer and beta-naphthylamine and benzidine. Although it was not revealed exactly, some relationships were confirmed.

Diagnosis The diagnosis was made by ultrasound, computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP), which examines the shape of the pancreatic duct and bile duct through an endoscope. Perform an ultrasonic examination (EUS). Diagnosis is made by proton emission tomography (PET), serum tumor marker, and laparoscopy. Because early symptoms do not appear well, jaundice or long-term occlusion progresses and symptoms are found at the end of symptoms.

Cure Treatment consists of surgery, radiation, anticancer therapy, and a combination of therapy is recommended. Surgery is a resection that cuts cancer, and pancreatic cancer can only be cured by surgery. Depending on the location of the cancer, the details of the resection and resection is wrong, the entire pancreas may need to be resected multiple times. In addition, if the cancer can not be removed, connect the stomach and intestines for food intake, and connect the bile duct and the intestines to prevent jaundice. Radiation therapy is the destruction of cancer by radiation. Anticancer drug therapy is used to kill cancer cells by killing cancer cells, but it can cause side effects such as vomiting, anorexia, blood disorders, and hair loss. In addition to these three treatments, there are hyperthermia, immunotherapy, and other therapies.

Prevention It is advisable to prevent it by reducing the risk factors of the onset because it is difficult to cure. Reduce high-fat diet, high-calorie diet, meat-eating habits, and avoid smoking, drinking alcohol, exposure to chemicals. Active treatment for chronic pancreatitis is also important.