Understanding Pancreatic Cancer: Causes and Characteristics

Pancreatic cancer has become a taboo topic that many people are afraid to speak out about. It looms over families like a dark cloud, and manages to destroy people in a scarily short amount of time.

Pancreatic cancer is the fourth most dangerous cancer in the United States, and the more we learn about it, the less deadly it becomes. This cancer begins in the Pancreas, a gland behind the stomach, that aides in digestion and disperses hormones critical to keep our body functioning. While many people have a mild understanding of pancreatic cancer, most do not realize that “pancreatic cancer” is an umbrella term for many different types of cancerous tumors. The most common of these is the adenocarcinoma, which begins in the ducts of the pancreas

When you think of the repercussions of smoking you often think of lung cancer, but smoking also increases your chances of getting pancreatic cancer by almost 50%. You are twice as likely to get pancreatic cancer if you smoke than you would if you didn't. In addition, overweight people are twenty percent more likely to develop pancreatic cancer. Pancreatic cancer can also be hereditary, and you can be at a higher risk because of an inherited syndrome. African American people are also more susceptible to pancreatic cancer, the cause for this is not

Specifically “TP53, p16INK4A, and SMAD4. The p53 nuclear protein activates transcription of a cyclin kinase inhibitor p21WAF1/CIP1. Following genomic stress, inappropriate growth factor stimulation or expression of oncogenic ras increased expression of p53, and thus p21WAF1/CIP1 resulted in inactivation of specific CDK/cyclin complexes” (MedScape). If this transformed cell can escape internal and external fail-safe mechanisms, receive nutrients, and activate its proliferative program, it can form a mass of cancerous cells. Tumor growth can cause the loss of pancreatic functions. Another characteristic of pancreatic cancer is metastasis happens early in tumor growth, which is most likely responsible for pancreatic cancer’s aggressive