Pancreatic Cancer

Prevention

There is no way to prevent pancreatic cancer. There also is no method of screening for pancreatic cancer so that it can be caught and treated early. Because cigarette smoking is the most significant risk factor associated with pancreatic cancer, it's crucial to quit smoking or avoid starting. Eating a diet including fruits, vegetables and fiber is also recommended to avoid cancers in general.

Treatment

After your physician diagnoses pancreatic cancer, he or she will conduct more tests to determine how advanced the cancer has become, a process known as staging. The treatment depends on the cancer's stage.

Surgery may be done to remove part or all of the pancreas, and any surrounding tissue that has become cancerous. Your doctor also may use chemotherapy (treatment with tumor-killing drugs) and radiation therapy to kill tumor cells and control symptoms of the disease. In some cases, your doctor may offer you new treatments that are promising but are not yet approved as standard procedure. These treatments are called clinical trials.

Even if the chance for cure is small, treatment can help to prevent or control the development of symptoms.

Pancreatic cancer is classified and treated according to the following stages:

Resectable cancer: The cancer has not spread outside the pancreas. It is rare for patients to be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer at this early stage. Treatment of cancers in this stage typically involves surgery, but may include any of the following:

• Surgery to remove the head of the pancreas, part of the small intestine and some surrounding tissue (Whipple procedure)

• Removal of the entire pancreas and the organs around it (total pancreatectomy)

• Removal of the body and tail of the pancreas (distal pancreatectomy)

• Surgery followed by radiation therapy and chemotherapy

• Clinical trials - Radiation therapy and possibly chemotherapy given before, during or after surgery

Locally advanced cancer: The cancer has spread to neighboring organs, such as the duodenum (the first part of the small intestine), surrounding blood vessels and the intestine. Because of this spread, it generally is not possible to remove the pancreas surgically. Treatment of patients with this stage of pancreatic cancer may include: