Pancreatic Tumor - Symptoms And Treatment

2024 Author: Josephine Shorter | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-01-07 17:49

Pancreatic tumor

A tumor of the pancreas is a neoplasm that originates from the parenchyma of an organ or from the pancreatic ducts. The disease for a long time can not manifest itself in any way, and even late symptoms of a tumor are often confused by people with other lesions of the digestive system. The danger is that a pancreatic tumor is prone to very rapid progression and metastasis to the lungs, lymph nodes, bones and liver.

Statistics indicate that every year about 10 people in the world out of every 100,000 people develop a pancreatic tumor. The disease itself ranks fourth in mortality among all oncopathologies and is diagnosed 1.5 times more often in men. The risk of developing the disease increases after 30 years, and by 70 years is gaining its maximum. Thus, 63% of all patients with a pancreatic tumor are people who have crossed the threshold of 70 years.

In 75% of cases, the tumor is located in the head of the gland, the tail and body are less frequently involved in the pathological process. In 95% of the pancreas, adenocarcinomas are formed - malignant glandular tumors.

Content:

• Pancreatic tumors
• Pancreatic tumor symptoms
• Pancreatic tumor stages
• Disease prognosis
• Pancreatic tumor diagnosis
• Pancreatic tumor treatment

Pancreatic tumors

The causes of pancreatic tumors are still not exactly known to science. Therefore, only the risk factors that can lead to this oncopathology are highlighted. Nevertheless, up to 40% of cases of all tumors of the gland remain with an unexplained etiology.

All cells of the body are constantly dividing and periodically appear those that have a broken DNA structure. At this time, immune mechanisms are activated that destroy atypical cells. If the natural defense fails for some reason, then the mutated cells continue to divide and give a start for tumor formation. In addition, as they accumulate, they trigger a special mechanism that allows them to hide from the attacks of the immune system. When the body's defense still recognizes the tumor, its own strength is no longer enough to completely eliminate it. However, according to the body's fight against pathology, one can suspect early symptoms of a tumor, which will be described below.

Risk factors that can provoke the development of a pancreatic tumor are the following:

• Chronic pancreatitis. In this disease, the gland is in a state of constant inflammation, which is the basis for cell mutation.
• Inherited pancreatitis.
• Diabetes mellitus leads to the fact that in the blood a high level of glucose is constantly maintained, which increases the risk of the formation of a tumor of the gland.
• Smoking, which contributes to permanent organ ischemia.
• Excess weight.
• Cirrhosis of the liver.
• A stomach ulcer, which provokes a malfunction in the intestinal microflora. This, in turn, causes the excessive formation of toxic elements that lead to the development of a tumor.
• Improper nutrition. The risk of pancreatic cancer increases with the consumption of processed meat (sausages, sausages, ham, bacon, etc.), coffee, carbonated drinks, fried red meat, foods containing a large amount of saturated fatty acids.

• Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis.
• Physical inactivity.
• Diseases of an allergic nature.
• Diseases of the oral cavity (pulpitis, carious damage to the tooth enamel, periodontitis).
• Intoxication of the body with chemicals.
• Age over 60.
• Other oncopathologies of the body (tumors of the cervix, throat, intestines, stomach, etc.).
• African race.
• Genetic mutations in your own DNA structure.
• Pancreatic tumor in close relatives.
• Male.
• Postponed surgical interventions on the stomach.

Chronic pancreatitis, pancreatic adenoma and cyst are considered by doctors as precancerous conditions.

Pancreatic tumor symptoms

The symptom of pancreatic tumors at the initial stages of oncopathology does not manifest itself in any way.

However, as the malignant formation grows, the patient begins to pay attention to the following signs:

• Pain localized in the pancreas. Sometimes the pain can be girdle, sometimes it radiates to the back, or to the upper abdomen. It is characterized by its strengthening when the body is tilted, and its weakening when pressing the legs to the stomach. As the tumor grows, the pain will get worse.
• If the tumor develops in the area of the head of the organ, then jaundice is diagnosed in most patients. Yellowing of the skin is accompanied by severe itching, while the urine becomes darker and the feces are lighter.
• The stool takes on a fetid odor; in consistency, it is predominantly greasy and liquid.
• Weight loss is a very common symptom indicating a malignant tumor lesion of the pancreas. It is observed in 92% of patients. Weight loss is explained by the fact that the normal process of absorption of fats in the intestine is disrupted, since the pancreas does not secrete the enzymes necessary for this process.
• Anorexia develops in 64% of patients in case of damage to the head of the gland. When the tumor is localized in other parts of the organ, anorexia will be detected only in 30% of patients.
• Vomiting is a symptom that a tumor has transferred the duodenum or blocked the lumen of the stomach.

• Secondary diabetes mellitus with an increase in the volume of excreted urine and with severe thirst is a common symptom of this oncopathology.
• It is not excluded that varicose veins of the esophagus and stomach, which provoke internal bleeding.
• Sometimes the disease manifests itself with symptoms of acute cholecystitis or pancreatitis.

Symptoms gradually increase, and pain gets worse as the disease progresses. The tumor is prone to metastasis. It sends atypical cells to the lymph nodes (the nodes located next to the pancreas are the first to be affected), to the circulatory system (this is how other internal organs are affected), to the peritoneum (the intestines and pelvic organs are affected).

In addition, the tumor itself is able to grow into the bile ducts, into the stomach, into large vessels. This is the so-called tumor penetration.

Pancreatic tumor stages

There are four stages of pancreatic tumors. However, the stage "cancer in place" or stage zero can be separately noted. A person does not experience symptoms of the disease, only a small number of gland cells undergo mutation. This stage can be identified only with the help of instrumental examination methods (MRI, ultrasound, CT).

The main stages of pancreatic tumors are as follows:

1. The first stage is divided into two substages - 1A and 1B. At stage 1A, the tumor is located only in the gland itself and does not exceed 2 cm in size. If it is not located near the exit to the duodenum (in this case, nausea and diarrhea often occur), then no symptoms of the disease will be observed. At stage 1B, the tumor becomes larger in size, sometimes symptoms of jaundice, pain, nausea and vomiting appear.
2. The second stage is also divided into two substages - 2A and 2B. The first of them is characterized by the germination of the tumor into nearby organs, into the bile ducts, and the second by metastasis to the regional lymph nodes. In this case, severe abdominal pain may already occur, anorexia, vomiting and diarrhea may develop.
3. At the third stage of the disease, large vessels are affected (hepatic artery, superior mesenteric artery, celiac trunk, portal vein, veins of the large intestine and other organs).
4. The fourth stage of the disease is characterized by metastases affecting other organs, even distant ones, for example, the brain or ovaries. Symptoms are gaining their maximum and largely depend on what other organ is affected by daughter tumors.

Disease prognosis

The prognosis of the disease is most often extremely unfavorable. The average life expectancy of patients with a malignant tumor of the pancreas is 4 to 6 months. Only 3% of people live for five or more years. This is due to the fact that a tumor of the gland is most often diagnosed at later stages, and the overwhelming number of patients are elderly people who cannot undergo a radical operation. However, when a stage zero tumor is detected, the treatment efficiency reaches 99%.

Pancreatic tumor diagnosis

Diagnosis of pancreatic tumors presents certain difficulties, since the symptoms of the disease are often blurred. No more than 30% of tumors are found before the age of 2 months.

The following laboratory tests allow suspecting oncopathology:

• General blood analysis. ESR and platelet count grows, hemoglobin falls.
• A biochemical blood test indicates an increase in bilirubin in the blood, an increase in the number of liver enzymes.
• Determination of tumor markers in the blood. The possibility of performing an operation is indicated by the CA-19-9 marker, which, at the early stages of tumor development, is not detected. In 50% of patients, the CA-125 marker is detected. For the later stages of the development of oncopathology, tests for markers CF-15, CA-494, etc. will be positive.

Instrumental diagnostic techniques make it possible with a greater degree of probability to determine the presence of a tumor process:

• Ultrasound of the abdominal organs.
• CT and MRI make it possible to visualize a tumor less than 1 cm, and also help to identify metastases.
• PET helps to detect malignant tumors and their metastases.
• Retrograde cholangiopancreatography is an invasive technique and can detect tumors larger than 2 cm.

A biopsy followed by a histological examination of the material is carried out during diagnostic laparoscopy or directly during the operation.

Pancreatic tumor treatment

Treatment of a pancreatic tumor involves surgical removal. For this, the modified organ tissues are excised. If there are no contraindications to surgery, then it is advisable to perform a radical removal of the neoplasm and the pancreas itself. At the same time, the gallbladder, duodenum, part of the stomach and intestines are often removed from the body together with the gland. Within 5 years after such an operation, no more than 25% of patients live. In addition to complete resection, distal and segmental resections are possible.

In some cases, it is not possible to completely remove the tumor, but operations are still performed. Their goal is to make life easier for patients. To do this, metastases can be removed, obstruction of the biliary tract or intestines can be eliminated. It is possible to remove part of the tumor so that it stops pressing on the nerve endings and does not cause severe pain to the patient.

As for the drug treatment of pancreatic cancer, chemotherapy is used for this purpose. It aims to suppress the growth of abnormal cells. The drugs used for this purpose are Semustin, Fluorouracil, Streptozocin, etc. A combination of several drugs is possible.

Enzymatic deficiency is compensated for by taking enzyme preparations - Creon, Pancitrat, Pancrease.

All patients with pancreatic tumors should eat a diet high in protein and fat, which will prevent the development of anorexia.

Radiation therapy can be prescribed before surgery to reduce the size of the tumor, during it to prevent the recurrence of the disease, or if the operation cannot be performed.

Hericium against pancreatic tumor

Hericium is a fungus that grows on stumps and dead tree trunks. Eastern medicine has been using hericium comb (the scientific name for the fungus) since ancient times. Modern Chinese doctors prescribe it for the treatment of malignant tumors, equating the effect of its use with radiation therapy or chemotherapy. Hericium is also used in the event that it is no longer possible to perform an operation to remove a pancreatic tumor.

Due to the inclusion of YA-2 fatty acids, phenols, beta-glucans and other polysaccharides into the composition of the fungus, it is possible to help the body in the fight against oncopathology. These same substances can enhance the effect of chemotherapy by 2-7 times.

Japanese scientists conducted an experiment with mice. The rodents were planted with cancer cells, and then the formed tumor was treated with Hericium. As a result, in some of the mice, the growth of the tumor stopped, and in some of them it even decreased in size.

Hericium can be used in powder or tincture form. You can buy it in an online store or from herbalists (they most often offer ready-made tinctures).

The methods of using the mushroom are as follows:

• Stir the powder (1 g) in a glass of warm water and leave for 12 hours. Then the resulting infusion is divided into three parts and drunk during the day, 30 minutes before meals.
• You can prepare the remedy in a similar way, but use it in full right after a night's rest on an empty stomach.
• You can prepare an infusion from 150 ml of vodka and 10 g of powder. Withstand such an infusion should be in a cool place for 14 days. For prophylactic purposes, take a teaspoon of the infusion 3 times a day, and for therapeutic purposes, a tablespoon 3 times a day.
• Another way to use Hericium: in 150 ml of vegetable or olive oil heated in a water bath, add 10 g of powder and mix well. After that, the mixture is removed from the heat and kept in a warm place for 3 hours. Then it is stored in the refrigerator for another 5 days. Take according to the scheme described in the third paragraph.

The author of the article: Bykov Evgeny Pavlovich | Oncologist, surgeon

Education: graduated from residency at the Russian Scientific Oncological Center. N. N. Blokhin "and received a diploma in the specialty" Oncologist"