Pancreatic cancer is extremely malignant. «At the time of diagnosis, 80 percent patients are only suitable for palliative treatment »

Pancreatic cancer is often diagnosed by doctors when it is no longer inoperable. It belongs to the neoplasms with the highest mortality rate. At the University Clinical Hospital in Wrocław, he is also treated with the NanoKnife method. This operation can extend patients’ lives.

1. Chronic pancreatitis can last for decades, and the risk of developing pancreatitis increases with age
2. The disease is most often diagnosed in patients between the ages of 60 and 80. 100 percent patients who come to surgery with a diagnosis of pancreatic cancer, as much as 80 percent. it is only subject to palliative treatment
3. – The tumor in the head of the pancreas grows and invades the main biliary tract. This prevents bile from being drained from the liver. The appearance of jaundice is the moment when we know that the patient’s body is very bad, explains Prof. Wojciech Kielan, surgeon
4. The expert also draws attention to the previous symptoms of pancreatic cancer, which we usually underestimate or confuse with other ailments
5. More current information can be found on the Onet homepage.

Pancreatic cancer most often affects the inhabitants of highly developed countries. In Europe, it is the seventh most common and fifth most common cause of death. Only in Poland, this cancer kills about 4 annually. people.

Doctors predict that the mortality from this severe disease tends to increase: in the next decade it may outweigh other gastrointestinal cancers, such as stomach cancer.

1. Insidious tumor. What are the symptoms of pancreatic cancer?

Late clinical signs

– Pancreatic cancer is a real scourge. It is true that in terms of the number of cancer cases in Poland it ranks only 10th in men and 12th in women, but it is a cancer with an extremely poor prognosis. Why? Because it gives very late clinical symptoms. Therefore, it is most often diagnosed at such a stage of its advancement that it is no longer inoperable. 100 percent patients who come to surgery with a diagnosis of pancreatic cancer, as much as 80 percent it is only subject to palliative treatment. The remaining 20 percent. patients are eligible for resection, but only 5 percent. from this group has a chance of about 5-year survival after surgery – explains prof. Wojciech Kielan, specialist surgeon, head of the XNUMXnd Department and Clinic of General and Oncological Surgery at the Medical University of Wrocław.

Pancreatic cancer. Insidious disease

The pancreas is made up of two types of tissue with different functions. The exocrine tissue delivers enzymes to the gastrointestinal tract. They enable the breakdown of proteins, carbohydrates and fats that are provided to the body with food. The second, endocrine, puts glucagon and insulin into the bloodstream. These hormones are very important for human functioning as they regulate blood sugar levels.

1. The XNUMX worst foods for the pancreas

– As for the anatomy, the pancreas lies retroperitoneally in the abdominal cavity. It is not located just below the abdominal wall, so it is difficult to examine. And because we have it on our back, so close spine, To patients often complain of pain in its vicinity. They associate these ailments with discopathy rather than with neoplastic growth of the pancreas. Patients suffer from abdominal pain radiating to the extremities, lack of appetite. They lose weight. These symptoms should prompt the patient to perform a computed tomography as soon as possible, because this examination will allow the diagnosis of possible changes in the pancreas. – explains prof. Kielan.

Jaundice – a clear signal of pancreatic cancer

In patients with pancreatic cancer, diarrhea or constipation may also be associated with epigastric and back pain.

But the first symptom of pancreatic cancer is mechanical jaundice: a tumor in the head of the pancreas grows and invades the main biliary tract. This prevents bile from being drained from the liver. The appearance of jaundice is the moment when we know that the patient’s organism is going very badly – says the doctor.

What predisposes people to develop pancreatic cancer? There is a lot of information that genetic determinants are risk factors and about 10 percent patients inherit cancer from relatives.

1. How does the pancreas hurt and why? These symptoms must not be ignored

Is pancreatic cancer hereditary?

– It is not scientifically proven that we get pancreatic cancer in decline from previous generations. It is known, however, that neoplastic transformation is favored by certain disorders within genes, which in turn may actually cause neoplasm – analyzes prof. Kielan. He also emphasizes that other risk factors, such as smoking and inadequate nutrition, have an impact on the well-being of the pancreas.

– Unhygienic lifestyle affects the condition of the organ. A poor diet, eating large amounts of red meat and alcohol abuse lead to chronic inflammatory changes when the pancreas shows clear abnormalities. Against this background, pancreatic fibrosis and neoplastic changes occur, the doctor emphasizes.

1. Is There A Diet That Will Protect Us From Cancer? Experts reply

Resistant to chemotherapy

Chronic pancreatitis can last for decades, and the risk of developing pancreatitis increases with age: the disease is most often diagnosed in patients between 60 and 80 years of age.

How are pancreatic tumors treated? The most effective is surgical treatment, as chemotherapy alone usually does not give good results. Pancreatic cancer is usually chemoresistant. But surgery is also a medical challenge, it is extremely difficult. It is determined by the anatomical structure of the pancreas and its vicinity.

– The risk of complications is high. This is due to the location of this organ: the liver, duodenum and important blood vessels lie close to the pancreas: the inferior portal vena cava, the superior mesenteric artery and vein. There is a high risk of their damage during the operation. In view of all these circumstances, nearly 80 percent of patients, we can only use palliative treatment – explains prof. Wojciech Kielan.

Just an operation

It is of great importance in the surgical treatment of pancreatic cancer the location of the tumor.

– There are three parts to this organ: the head surrounded by the duodenum, the body and the tail reaching the spleen. Different methods of surgical intervention are used in the distal part, i.e. distal surfaces of the pancreas, and in the head of the pancreas. However, regardless of where the cancer is located, the best way to cure pancreatic cancer is radical surgery, which increases the patient’s chance of survival. To increase the radicalization of treatment, they are given chemotherapy after surgery. And if the tumor cannot be surgically removed because it is inoperable and infiltrates the surrounding blood vessels, then a palliative procedure remains. In order to discolor the bile ducts and gastrointestinal obstruction – the surgeon explains.

1. Insidious tumor. What are the symptoms of pancreatic cancer?

NanoKnife at the University Clinical Hospital in Wrocław

Patients with inoperable pancreatic cancer have great hopes for the method NanoKnife. This is carried out thanks to a special device the medical procedure consists in placing electrodes in the form of needles in the tumor mass. They create a series of microsecond electrical pulses, which causes the cancer cells to die. This method can only be used after prior chemotherapy treatment. This procedure is very expensive and has not yet been reimbursed by the National Health Fund.

A team of researchers from the Clinic led by prof. Kielan in 2021 obtained a prestigious research grant from the Medical Research Agency. This will allow for five-year clinical trials and NanoKnife procedures in patients with inoperable pancreatic cancer and after chemotherapy treatment without metastatic changes in the liver.

1. Pancreatic cancer is one of the most deadly cancers. Doctor: weeks count

The surgery does not damage the surrounding blood vessels and bile ducts

– The NanoKnife method has been used in the world in cases of pancreatic cancer and prostate cancer for several years. Importantly, this operation does not damage the nearby blood vessels and bile ducts, they retain their vitality. At the University Clinical Hospital in Wrocław, we performed the first such operation on borrowed equipment four years ago. Since then, we have made efforts to purchase a NanoKnife device for USK in Wrocław. The hospital management purchased this equipment for us in 4.

The first patient who operated on her own equipment was a 60-year-old woman. Prof. Paweł Lampe from the Medical University of Silesia, a recognized specialist in the treatment of neoplastic diseases of the pancreas for many years, and prof. Michał Studniarek, radiologist from the Medical University of Gdańsk – recalls prof. Kielan.

A chance to extend patients’ lives

Since then, the team of the General and Oncological Surgery Clinic of the Wrocław University of Science and Technology has performed over 30 procedures using the NanoKnife.

– We have been treating our patients for 4 years. And we are constantly wondering what else we can do for them. Unfortunately, it must be clearly emphasized that NanoKnife is not a method that will cure patients XNUMX%. This tumor cannot be completely destroyed. The current that runs between the NanoKnife needles kills cancer cells, but cannot remove all of them. Of course, in this way we will reduce the mass of the tumor, but we will not completely eliminate it. Importantly, patients after this surgery still have to undergo further chemotherapy – the doctor explains, but emphasizes that the purpose of the research under the grant is to analyze how long the NanoKnife method, in combination with chemotherapy, will be able to extend the patient’s life.

1. How do you know if your pancreas is in bad shape? The symptoms are unusual

Who is eligible for NanoKnife treatment?

– For patients with a certain sentence, extending life is a matter that cannot be overestimated. It must be remembered that pancreatic cancer, as it is not amenable to any treatment, causes that the average life expectancy is 3 to 6 months from diagnosis. It’s very, very short. Therefore, as part of the awarded research grant, we will conduct research on whether the use of the NanoKnife method along with chemotherapy can extend the patient’s life. May it be possible for as long as possible – emphasizes prof. Kielan.

Patients who want to undergo NanoKnife therapy must meet strict medical criteria.

– They can be patients from all over Poland, diagnosed with inoperable pancreatic cancer, after prior and completed chemotherapeutic treatment. What is very important, they cannot have metastatic changes in the liver – enumerates prof. Kielan.