Pancreatic cancer begins in the tissues of your pancreas — an organ in your abdomen that lies behind the lower part of your stomach. Your pancreas releases enzymes that aid digestion and produces hormones that help manage your blood sugar.

Several types of growths can occur in the pancreas, including cancerous and noncancerous tumors. The most common type of cancer that forms in the pancreas begins in the cells that line the ducts that carry digestive enzymes out of the pancreas (pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma).

Symptoms

Signs and symptoms of pancreatic cancer often don't occur until the disease is advanced. They may include:

• Abdominal pain that radiates to your back
• Loss of appetite or unintended weight loss
• Yellowing of your skin and the whites of your eyes (jaundice)
• Light-colored stools
• Dark-colored urine
• Itchy skin
• New diagnosis of diabetes or existing diabetes that's becoming more difficult to control
• Blood clots
• Fatigue

Risk factors

Factors that may increase your risk of pancreatic cancer include:

• Smoking
• Diabetes
• Chronic inflammation of the pancreas (pancreatitis)
• Family history of genetic syndromes that can increase cancer risk, including a BRCA2 gene mutation, Lynch syndrome and familial atypical mole-malignant melanoma (FAMMM) syndrome
• Family history of pancreatic cancer
• Obesity
• Older age, as most people are diagnosed after age 65

A large study demonstrated that the combination of smoking, long-standing diabetes and a poor diet increases the risk of pancreatic cancer beyond the risk of any one of these factors alone.

Diagnosis

If your doctor suspects pancreatic cancer, he or she may have you undergo one or more of the following tests:

• Imaging tests that create pictures of your internal organs. 
• Using a scope to create ultrasound pictures of your pancreas. 
• Removing a tissue sample for testing (biopsy). 
• Blood test.

Treatment

Treatment for pancreatic cancer depends on the stage and location of the cancer as well as on your overall health and personal preferences. For most people, the first goal of pancreatic cancer treatment is to eliminate the cancer, when possible. When that isn't an option, the focus may be on improving your quality of life and limiting the cancer from growing or causing more harm.

Treatment may include surgery, radiation, chemotherapy or a combination of these. When pancreatic cancer is advanced and these treatments aren't likely to offer a benefit, your doctor will focus on symptom relief (palliative care) to keep you as comfortable as possible for as long as possible.

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