The Science Behind Pancreatic Cancer And How We Can Fight Against It

Introduction

Pancreatic cancer is one of the most difficult cancers to treat and often leads to a poor prognosis. Fortunately, scientists at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute are working on a new drug that may be effective against pancreatic cancer. In the meantime, if you would like to support research into pancreatic cancer treatment and help save lives, here are some ways you can get involved:

What is pancreatic cancer?

Pancreatic cancer is a disease that starts when cells in the pancreas begin to grow out of control. It’s the fourth leading cause of cancer death in the United States, and it’s difficult to treat because it spreads quickly.

There are two main types of pancreatic cancer: adenocarcinoma and neuroendocrine Tumors (NET). Adenocarcinoma accounts for over 95 percent of pancreatic cancers, while NETs account for just 5 percent.

What are the risk factors?

Age: The risk of pancreatic cancer increases with age.
Gender: Men are more likely to develop pancreatic cancer than women.
Smoking: Smoking is the most significant modifiable risk factor associated with pancreatic cancer, though not all smokers develop the disease and some non-smokers do develop it.
Family history: People who have a family history of pancreatic cancer, especially multiple generations, have an increased risk of developing it themselves.

How many people are affected by pancreatic cancer?

It is the fourth leading cause of cancer death in the United States, behind lung, colon and breast cancers. It has a low survival rate because it is often diagnosed at an advanced stage.

In men, pancreatic cancer causes more deaths than any other type of cancer except lung cancer. In women, pancreatic cancer is now the second leading cause of death from all types of cancers after lung disease.

What is the current prognosis?

Pancreatic cancer is a particularly deadly disease. In fact, it’s the fourth leading cause of cancer death in the U.S., and most people diagnosed with pancreatic cancer don’t survive more than a year after their diagnosis. Unfortunately, there are no screening tests for pancreatic cancer: if you have been diagnosed with the disease, it means that your pancreas has been growing tumors for some time without being detected by standard medical tests (such as CT scans). The only way to know if you have pancreatic cancer is through an MRI or CT scan performed during an annual physical exam—but unfortunately these tools aren’t effective at detecting early-stage tumors.

Why is it so important to find a cure for pancreatic cancer?

Pancreatic cancer is an aggressive disease that is the fourth leading cause of cancer death in the United States. It’s also very difficult to detect early, and just over 20% of patients are alive five years after their diagnosis.

The majority of pancreatic cancers develop from pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas (PDAC). These cancers typically start in the tissue that lines your pancreas, but they can spread to surrounding organs like your liver, spleen and bile ducts. The good news is that there are many ways we can fight against this disease!

What can I do to help?

The Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (PCAN), a nonprofit advocacy group that funds research, offers various ways for you to get involved and make a difference in the fight against pancreatic cancer:

Donate money to one of the many research funds set up by PCAN and other organizations. You can also use Twitter to spread awareness of pancreatic cancer by using the hashtag #pancreaticcancer
Sign up as a volunteer at PCAN’s website or contact your local chapter if you live near one. Your time is valuable, but so is your expertise! If you have experience working in health care or fundraising, there are plenty of opportunities available where you can help raise money while gaining new skills along the way.
Reach out to your employer about donating time off work during National Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month on October 16th each year — many companies offer paid leave for this purpose!

Scientists at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute are working on a new drug that may be effective against pancreatic cancer.

Scientists at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute are working on a new drug that may be effective against pancreatic cancer. The drug is called BMS-927559 and has just begun Phase I clinical trials in patients with advanced pancreatic cancer.

The drug is a small molecule that targets the tumor microenvironment, which can help to support tumor growth, making it more difficult for chemotherapy drugs to penetrate into the tumor.

How else can we work together to fight pancreatic cancer while we wait for the new drug to be developed?

Support research.
Donate.
Volunteer.
Educate yourself about pancreatic cancer and the various ways you can help fight it while we wait for a cure to be developed:
Get tested, screened or vaccinated if you’re at high risk (you probably know whether you are by now).
Get treatment if you have symptoms that could be pancreatic cancer—don’t wait until it’s too late! Getting caught early increases your chances of survival significantly.
Get screened regularly by a doctor or radiologist who knows what they’re doing (and maybe also get a second opinion). If your doctor says he or she doesn’t know how to do these tests right now, find another one who does! The sooner we can screen for this disease in its earliest stages, the better off we’ll all be later on down the road when there is more hope for recovery rather than just surviving longer with less quality of life.”

By supporting research, you can help scientists find an effective way to treat pancreatic cancer and save lives!

If you’re like me, you might think that the only way to fight cancer is with money. But it turns out that donating money isn’t the only way to support local or national cancer research.

Here are some other ways that donors can help:

Donate blood or platelets at a blood bank near your house
Donate old clothes, shoes and accessories from your closet (and then buy new ones!)
Sign up for a volunteer program at a local hospital or clinic in your community.

Conclusion

We hope that this article has helped you understand the science behind pancreatic cancer and how it affects people’s lives. The more we know about this disease, the more likely we are to find a cure. If you would like to support our work at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, please consider making a donation or volunteering in some way!