Definition
Pancreatic cancer is a type of cancer in which malignant (cancer) cells originate from the tissue of pancreas. It is one of the most lethal human cancers and continues to be a major challenging health disease at present. It is also known as “silent” disease because early pancreatic cancer usually does not cause symptoms. More than 95 % of pancreatic cancers occur in the exocrine cells, and the vast majority of these tumors are adenocarcinomas. Less than 5 % of all pancreatic tumors are neuroendocrine tumors, also known as endocrine or islet cell tumors. Pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors may be benign or malignant, and these usually grow slower than exocrine tumors.
Characteristics
Human Pancreas
The human pancreas is about 6 in.-long spongy organ located in the back of the abdomen surrounded by the stomach, intestines, liver, and other organs. The relatively broad head of the pancreas is toward the right side of the abdomen where the stomach is attached to the duodenum part...
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References
Greer JB, Brand RE (2011) New developments in pancreatic cancer. Curr Gastroenterol Rep 13(2):131–139
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Sharma, N.K., Shankar, S., Srivastava, R. (2014). Pancreatic Cancer Biology and Management. In: Schwab, M. (eds) Encyclopedia of Cancer. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27841-9_7187-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27841-9_7187-4
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Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
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