Pancreatic cancer is a result of mutated pancreas cells. Once the cells accumulate, they form a malignant tumor that eventually metastasizes and cause untimely death. When DNA in the pancreatic cells are damaged, this abnormality causes rapid cell growth and division resulting in malignancy. If not caught in its early stage, pancreatic cancer becomes catastrophic since it's highly aggressive.
There’s no known cause of pancreatic cancer,” said Susan Echt. “But there are risk factors that can aggravate the development of the disease. Early diagnosis of pancreatic cancer can help prevent its spread to the other parts of the body.”
The risk factors for pancreatic cancer vary, but none of them can be linked to the diagnosis of a patient. Some of these risks include:
• Smoking – Smoking is regarded as the most concrete connection to pancreatic cancer and lifestyle. Smokers are said to have almost double the risk of developing cancer of the pancreas.
• Obesity–Poor eating habits and inactive lifestyle can elevate one’s risk of getting pancreatic cancer.
• Diabetes – Research is still underway to determine the real connection between diabetes and pancreatic cancer. Even with no evidence, diabetic patients are still at high risk of developing pancreatic cancer.
• Family history – It has been discovered that 5 – 10% of patients with pancreatic cancer have a family member with the disease. Therefore genetics is presumed to play a part in pancreatic cancer.
“It is important to note that having the risk factors mentioned above does not guarantee that you’ll develop pancreatic cancer,” said Sandra Echt. “However, one should keep in mind that pancreatic cancer is a deadly disease and it’s better to avoid the risks than to have to deal with their effects.”
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