About 95 percent of pancreatic tumors (to be) ______ adenocarcinomas. The remaining 5 percent (to include) ______________ other tumors of the exocrine pancreas.

Early diagnosis of pancreatic cancer (to be) ____ difficult because the symptoms (to be) _____ so non-specific and varied. Common symptoms (to include) _____________ abdominal pain, loss of appetite, significant weight loss and painless jaundice. All of these symptoms can (to blame) ______________ on other causes. Therefore, diagnosis of pancreatic cancer (to be) _____ often late-stage in its development.

Risk factors for pancreatic cancer (to include) _________________^:

Age

Gingivitis

Male gender

African ethnicity

Smoking

Diets high in meat

Obesity

Diabetes

Chronic pancreatitis has been linked, but is not known to be causal.

Occupational exposure to certain pesticides, dyes, and chemicals related to gasoline

Family history

Helicobacter pylori infection

 

Pancreatic cancer (to discover) _____ usually _______________ during the course of the evaluation of aforementioned symptoms. Liver function tests may (to show) __________ a combination of results indicative of bile duct obstruction Imaging studies, such as ultrasound or abdominal CT may (to use) ______________ to identify tumors. Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) (to be) ______ another procedure that can (to help) ________________ visualize the tumor and obtain tissue to establish the diagnosis.

Treatment of pancreatic cancer (to depend) ______________ on the stage of the cancer. Recent advances (to make) _____________________resection (surgical removal) of tumors that (to be) ________ previously unresectable due to blood vessel involvement possible.

Patients diagnosed with pancreatic cancer typically (to have) ________________ a poor prognosis partly because the cancer usually (to cause) _______________ no symptoms early on, leading to metastatic disease at time of diagnosis. Median survival from diagnosis (to be) _____ around 3 to 6 months; 5-year survival (to be) ______ much less than 5%. ^. With 32,180 new diagnoses in the United States every year, and 31,800 deaths, mortality (tp approach) ________________ 99%, giving pancreatic cancer the #1 fatality rate of all cancers and the #4 cancer killer in the United States amongst both men and women.