Pancreatic Cancer

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Pancreatic (Pancreas) Cancer: Fast Facts

• Pancreatic cancer affects the pancreas, an organ found in the abdomen, behind the stomach and in front of the spine. The pancreas is responsible for producing enzymes, that aid in digesting food and hormones like insulin and glucagon that help to balance blood-sugar levels.
• Different types of tumors can occur in the pancreas. The most common type is pancreatic adenocarcinoma, a cancer that is almost always deadly and forms in the cells that help deliver enzymes for food digestion, known as exocrine tumors. Less deadly and far less common are tumors that form in the cells that make the hormones, called endocrine tumors.
• Pancreatic cancer is relatively uncommon but almost uniformly fatal because of its often ambiguous symptoms. It ranks as the fourth-leading cause of cancer-related death in U.S. men and women. 

Read more about pancreatic-cancer prevention, symptoms and treatment options at the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance. »

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Pancreatic Cancer: Some of Our Key Research

Improving treatment of pancreas cancer
An international team of investigators, including the Hutchinson Center's Dr. Sunil Hingorani, has discovered a mechanism that may explain why pancreas-cancer patients are often resistant to a common chemotherapy treatment called gemcitabine. These findings may lead to more effective chemotherapy drugs to treat pancreas cancer in the future. Learn more »

Working toward a pancreas-cancer test

• A multicenter team of researchers led by Dr. Samir Hanash has made a major breakthrough that brings scientists significantly closer to developing a blood test to detect pancreatic cancer early, when cure rates are highest. Hanash and colleagues identified for the first time a set of telltale proteins—also known as biomarkers—that are associated with early-stage development of pancreatic tumors in genetically engineered mice. The same five-biomarker panel was also found to be associated with the presence of the disease in humans at an early stage, before visible symptoms occurred. Learn more »

• Another team of researchers led by Dr. Teri Brentnall is working on developing a pancreatic cancer blood test that targets the step right before pancreatic cancer, called pancreatic carcinoma in-situ. The Brentnall team collaborates with researchers up and down the West Coast and into Canada and receives support from the Canary Foundation's cancer early-detection program. Learn more »

Solving mysteries in pancreatic cancer's progression
Researchers at the Hutchinson Center have uncovered genetic clues that may explain why one form of pancreatic cancer is far deadlier than the other, even though they both carry the same basic genetic mutations. The more common form, known as pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, is almost uniformly fatal regardless of the stage of diagnosis, while the second form, cystic ductal pancreatic cancer, is less aggressive and carries a 50 percent long-term survival rate.

Dr. Sunil Hingorani and colleagues developed the first genetically engineered animal model of pancreas cancer in the hopes of furthering research on early detection, diagnosis and treatment of the disease. His laboratory also recently discovered that a specific sequence of otherwise common genetic mutations—not just the mere presence of the mutations—is responsible for sending cells down the less-traveled path toward cystic ductal pancreatic cancer rather than the well-traveled route to the more fatal form of pancreatic cancer. Learn more »

Listen to a Webcast with Dr. Sunil Hingorani »

Tracking pancreatic cancer in the general population
A joint effort by the Hutchinson Center and Group Health Cooperative aims at making progress against pancreatic cancer by being as swift and aggressive as the disease. The Pancreatic Cancer Investigation: Finding Causes, or PACIFIC, study comprises nearly 1,500 pancreatic-cancer cases and controls from two health-maintenance organizations with infrastructure to support ultra-rapid case identification within 10 days of diagnosis. Led by Dr. Meg Mandelson and Dr. John Potter, the study's methods may allow researchers to study earlier stages of the disease when surgical resection is still possible. Learn more about the PACIFIC study »

Following pancreatic cancer through families
An international research group led by Dr. Teri Brentnall has discovered that the mutated form of a gene called Palladin causes hereditary pancreatic cancer. The findings may help define a target for screening and early diagnosis for this often-lethal cancer. Learn more »

Find out more about our pancreatic-cancer investigators:
Melissa Austin » Anthony Back » Teri Brentnall » Samir Hanash » Sunil Hingorani »	Edward Lin » Meg Mandelson » John Potter » Samuel Whiting »

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Pancreatic Cancer: More Resources

• Every advance in cancer treatment in recent years has come out of clinical trials that test innovative medical approaches on patients. Find out more about clinical trials on pancreatic cancer. »

• The Hutchinson Center also conducts ongoing cancer-prevention studies that depend on participation of healthy volunteers. Learn more about getting involved in research studies. » 

• In need of medical attention for pancreatic cancer? Visit the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance to get help. »

• The Hutchinson Center is on a mission to eliminate cancer and related diseases as causes of human suffering and death, and you can help. Make a gift today. »

 

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