"The King of Cancer" Why is pancreatic cancer so dangerous?

According to the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Wu Zunyou, chief epidemiologist at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, died in Beijing at 12:56 on October 27, 2023, at the age of 60. Multiple media reported that during the 2021 epidemic, Wu Zunyou was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and had been fighting cancer for two years.

After the news was announced, netizens expressed their grief and also paid attention to pancreatic cancer. Pancreatic cancer is recognized as the "king of cancer" in the medical community because of its hidden onset, low early diagnosis rate, rapid progression and extremely poor prognosis.

Why is pancreatic cancer so dangerous? Who is more likely to get pancreatic cancer? And how can we prevent it?

Known as the “king of cancer”, why is pancreatic cancer so dangerous?

Public data shows that pancreatic cancer is a highly malignant digestive tract tumor and is known as the "king of cancer." In the past 10 years, the incidence of pancreatic cancer in China has increased year by year, and the average survival period of patients is only 4 to 6 months. The vast majority of pancreatic cancer patients are already in the middle and late stages when diagnosed. There is a significant difference in the five-year survival rate between early-stage pancreatic cancer patients and late-stage pancreatic cancer patients. In clinical practice, the proportion of patients with pancreatic cancer who undergo surgical resection is less than 20%, and the five-year survival rate of pancreatic cancer is only 8%.

Why is the survival rate of pancreatic cancer so low? There are two reasons for this: first, the pancreas is hidden in the retroperitoneum and the early symptoms of pancreatic cancer are not obvious; second, the natural course of pancreatic cancer is very fast. In other words, the window period for early detection of pancreatic cancer is very short.

In recent years, the incidence of pancreatic cancer has shown a clear upward trend both at home and abroad. According to statistics from the National Cancer Center of my country in 2021, pancreatic cancer ranks 7th in the incidence of malignant tumors in men and 11th in women in China, and accounts for 6th in the mortality rate related to malignant tumors.

How to detect the trend of younger age groups early?

In March this year, most of the patients seen in clinical practice were over 45 years old, but in the past two years, the number of patients around 40 years old has gradually increased, showing a younger trend.

"Difficult to detect" is a major feature of pancreatic cancer. Early pancreatic cancer lacks specific symptoms and signs. If you experience upper abdominal or back pain, nausea, indigestion, loss of appetite, abdominal distension, jaundice, new diabetes or sudden worsening of existing diabetes, significant weight loss, changes in stool characteristics, etc., it is recommended to go to the hospital for further screening.

According to the "Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Pancreatic Cancer (2022 Edition)" issued by the National Health Commission, the cause of pancreatic cancer has not yet been fully clarified. Epidemiological surveys have shown that the onset of pancreatic cancer is related to a variety of risk factors. Long-term smoking, advanced age, high-fat diet, excessive body mass index, chronic pancreatitis or concomitant diabetes are possible non-genetic risk factors for pancreatic cancer. Family inheritance is a high-risk factor for pancreatic cancer, and about 10% of pancreatic cancer patients have familial hereditary disease.

"The more you smoke, the higher the incidence of pancreatic cancer. At the same time, alcoholics, especially those with abnormal alcohol metabolism (face turns red after drinking), should also be alert to the occurrence of pancreatic cancer." Occupational exposure, diabetes, chronic pancreatitis, pancreatic cystic tumors, genetic factors, etc. can also increase the incidence of pancreatic cancer.

Therefore, it is necessary to develop a good lifestyle. Avoid three high diets, do not smoke, insist on physical exercise, avoid overeating and drinking, and avoid contact with effective substances such as naphthylamine and aniline.

Be alert if you have these 10 symptoms

Based on clinical experience, when pancreatic cancer occurs, the following 10 symptoms usually appear.

0 1

stomach ache

Abdominal pain is often the first symptom after pancreatic malignancy, mostly located in the upper abdomen, around the navel or right upper abdomen, and is colic in nature, as well as paroxysmal or persistent, progressively worsening dull pain, mostly radiating to the waist and back.

0 2

Obstructive jaundice

Generally, jaundice will appear when the pancreatic head undergoes malignant changes, and it will appear early, which is obstructive jaundice. Over time, the jaundice gradually deepens, accompanied by itchy skin, urine color like strong tea, and stool color like white clay.

0 3

Significant weight loss

More than 90% of pancreatic cancer patients experience rapid and significant weight loss. Advanced pancreatic cancer patients often have cachexia (a complex metabolic clinical syndrome in which the body's own tissues are consumed, characterized by loss of appetite, weight loss, systemic failure, and metabolic abnormalities) and emaciation. Therefore, if your weight suddenly drops by more than 10% recently, you should pay attention.

0 4

Sudden increase in blood sugar

The causes of diabetes are generally long-term sweet diet, obesity combined with abnormal blood lipid metabolism, family history of diabetes in immediate family members, etc. However, clinically, many pancreatic cancer patients have a history of diabetes without any cause. Therefore, for those over 50 years old who have symptoms of diabetes without obvious causes, pancreatic lesions should be suspected and ruled out.

0 5

indigestion

If vague, unexplained, and persistent indigestion-related symptoms occur, such as abdominal bloating, abdominal pain, changes in bowel habits, etc., and at the same time, gastrointestinal endoscopy shows no obvious abnormalities in the gastrointestinal tract, then one should consider whether pancreatic malignancy exists.

0 6

Loss of appetite

If you have recently experienced a decrease in your food intake, or even no appetite at all; have trouble digesting meals, and always feel like vomiting, and the condition does not improve over a week or two, you need to be highly alert to pancreatic dysfunction.

0 7

Steatorrhea

Some patients with pancreatic tumors may experience steatorrhea (also known as fat malabsorption), high blood sugar, glycosuria, and aversion to greasy food. Steatorrhea is caused by a decrease in the secretion of lipase by the pancreas, which results in undigested fat, which is then mixed with feces and excreted.

0 8

Spontaneous episodes of pancreatitis

Spontaneous pancreatitis is one of the important early symptoms of pancreatic cancer. Due to local ulceration of the pancreas, it can cause bile duct infection and lead to fever. People with a long history of smoking are more likely to develop spontaneous pancreatitis.

0 9

Local limb edema

About 20% of pancreatic cancer patients will develop thrombophlebitis in the limbs, more commonly in the lower limbs, manifested as local limb edema.

10

Swollen lymph nodes

Pancreatic cancer can cause the lymph nodes to become enlarged and hardened, and can be felt above the left clavicle or in the rectal pouch.