Overview

Name: Pancreas Cancer Genetics

Description: environmental and genetic risk factors

This casebook is published and has been read 273 times.

The author of this casebook has identified the following medical topics as being highly relevant to this casebook.

• Pancreatic carcinoma -- A disease in which malignant (cancer) cells are found in the tissues of the pancreas. Also called exocrine cancer.
  
  
• Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma -- A carcinoma occurring almost exclusively in adults that probably arises from the pancreatic duct epithelium. Most pancreatic carcinomas are ductal adenocarcinomas of which about two-thirds involve the head, with the remainder in the body and tail of the pancreas. The patients are usually over 50 years of age. Pain, jaundice, and loss of weight are the most common manifestations. Ductal adenocarcinomas usually grow rapidly and are discovered after they have already spread beyond the pancreas. Grossly, ductal adenocarcinomas are firm and poorly defined masses. Microscopically, most ductal adenocarcinomas are characterized by well-developed glandular structures embedded in a desmoplastic stroma. Ductal adenocarcinomas are fatal in the vast majority of cases (WHO 2000).
  
  
• Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma -- An adenocarcinoma which arises from the exocrine pancreas. Ductal adenocarcinoma and its variants are the most common types of pancreatic adenocarcinoma.
  
  

Notes

Inherited genetic disorders cause 5-10% of cases of pancreatic cancer and certain genes can inrease the lifetime risk up 80%. 

 

Bookmarks The following information, which has been distilled by the casebook author from this and other websites is particularly relevant to this casebook.