University:
Stanford University
Course:
MED 101 | Human Anatomy
Academic year:

2023
Views:

232

Pages:

2
Author:

larbi43100

‭Exocrine pancreatic cancer‬ ‭Fundamental reminder‬ ‭The pancreas is an amphicrine gland: endocrine by the islets of Langerhans‬ ‭(mainly insulin and glucagon synthesis), exocrine by the rest of the gland‬ ‭(synthesis of pancreatic juice). The percentage of its volume allocated to the‬ ‭endocrine function is very low: the pancreas is therefore volumetrically an‬ ‭essentially exocrine gland.‬ ‭We describe a head (on the right, embedded in the concavity of the‬ ‭duodenum), a body and a tail (on the left) which moves towards the‬ ‭missed. Its main duct opens in the descending part of the duodenum,‬ ‭through an orifice common with that of the bile ducts.‬ ‭Definition‬ ‭Primary malignant tumors of the pancreas are most often tumors of exocrine‬ ‭tissue (ductular adenocarcinoma), those of endocrine tissue (insulinoma for‬ ‭example) are much rarer. This chapter therefore only addresses exocrine‬ ‭pancreatic cancer.‬ ‭ cystic adenocarcinoma of the head of the pancreas on a CT‬ A ‭scan with injection of contrast product‬ ‭Epidemiology‬ ‭In the United States, exocrine pancreatic cancer was diagnosed in‬ ‭43,140 patients in 2010, and 36,800 died from it.‬ ‭Sex ratio‬‭-Men are a little more affected by the disease‬‭than women.‬ ‭Age at diagnosis‬‭-Exocrine pancreatic cancer is rare‬‭before the age of 50.‬ ‭Beyond that, its frequency increases rapidly, with the average age at‬ ‭diagnosis being 72 years (the peak incidence is observed between 65 and 84‬ ‭years).‬ ‭Ethnic factors‬‭-African-American subjects are more affected by the disease than‬ ‭Caucasians.‬ ‭Risk factors‬‭-The best documented is smoking (relative‬‭risk multiplied by 2 in‬ ‭heavy smokers compared to non-smokers, although the exact mechanism is‬ ‭still debated). Chronic pancreatitis and diabetes are certainly associated with‬ ‭endocrine pancreatic cancer, but their real nature (is it the cause of the cancer‬ ‭or its consequence?) is debated.‬