Pancreatic cancer is a highly lethal malignant tumor, which, 5 years after diagnosis, has a survival rate of 5-6%. Many famous people have died, more or less recently, due to a malignant neoplasm of the pancreas. One of these is the most famous Italian lyric tenor, Luciano Pavarotti. To him, pancreatic cancer that led to his death in 2007, was diagnosed in 2006
Category pancreas health
Pancreatic cancer is a malignant neoplasm with almost always poor prognosis. Consider, in fact, that only 26% of patients are still alive one year after diagnosis and a paltry 5-6% after 5 years. To make the situation even more problematic is the fact that, initially, pancreatic cancer presents with very vague symptoms and signs
What are? Amylases are fundamental enzymes for the digestion of complex carbohydrates, otherwise known as polysaccharides. Polysaccharides, such as starch and glycogen, are polymers deriving from the aggregation of more than ten molecules of simple sugars, such as glucose and fructose. Amylases are mainly produced by the salivary glands and the exocrine pancreas
Generality Elastases are pancreatic enzymes that hydrolyse (digest) elastin, a protein characteristic of connective tissues, such as the skin, blood vessels and lungs, to which it gives a certain elasticity. The elastase assay, in particular of elastase 1 (EL1), in the faeces is a recently introduced test, useful for evaluating the insufficiency of the exocrine secretion of the pancreas
Generality Lipases are enzymes produced mainly by the pancreas and involved in the digestion of fats introduced with the diet. The amount of lipase can be measured in the blood. Under normal conditions, the blood concentration of these enzymes is reduced; however, after damage to pancreatic cells (as happens, for example, in pancreatitis) or in the case of obstruction of the pancreatic duct (due to stones or neoplastic processes), a greater quantity of lipase is discharged into the blood stream, so an increase in the blood values of this parameter is observed. Wh
Pancreatin is a mixture of enzymes produced by the pancreas, essential for the correct digestion of macronutrients. Among the most popular pancreatic enzymes we mention amylases for the digestion of carbohydrates, lipases for digestion of lipids, trypsin and chymotrypsin for protein digestion. Under the influence of certain physiological stimuli, pancreatic enzymes are released into the initial part of the small intestine, called the duodenum, where digestion is completed and the absorption process begins
Generality Pancreatitis is a general inflammation of the pancreas, a very important gland for the digestive and glycemic balance of the whole body. Essentially two forms are recognized, acute pancreatitis, which appears suddenly and violently, and chronic pancreatitis, which lasts a long time with a tendency to worsen over time
Premise The symptomatic picture of tumors of the exocrine pancreas (mainly represented by pancreatic carcinoma) differs from the symptomatic picture of endocrine pancreatic tumors. This article will first consider the clinical manifestations of pancreatic cancer and secondarily those of endocrine pancreatic cancers
Premise Representing 95% of pancreatic neoplasms, malignant tumors of the exocrine pancreas - with pancreatic cancer on top - will be the topic of this article, dedicated to the treatment of pancreatic neoplasms . Therapy Exocrine pancreatic tumors The choice - by the Medical Staff - of the therapy to be adopted, in the presence of a malignant tumor of the exocrine pancreas, depends on various factors, including: the site of the tumor mass, the type of tumor, the stage and the degree of the neoplasm malignant (presence of metastases, progression of the disease etc
Generality Pancreatic tumors are neoplasms, benign or malignant, that originate at the level of the pancreatic gland. There are two main types of pancreatic cancers: tumors of the endocrine pancreas and tumors of the exocrine pancreas . The first type includes all pancreatic neoplasms that develop from a cell of the Langerhans islands; an example of endocrine pancreatic cancer is insulinoma