Modern medicine has not yet fully resolved the issue of treatment and diagnosis of pancreatic tumors, since this task is complicated. The pancreas has such a feature of anatomy that does not require minimal traumatization during surgical intervention. They are classified as benign and malignant. Benign tumors of the pancreas of connective tissue origin are very rare. To benign neoplasms include islet and excretory adenomas, which develop from the epithelium of excretory ducts. In rare cases, cysts of various sizes can be found in adenomas. The tumor takes the form of cystadenoma if a cyst enters it. Malignant tumors of the pancreas are those new growths that have partially or completely lost the ability to differentiate. This type of education is a serious danger to human life. Treatment is carried out surgically, with the help of chemotherapy, radiotherapy.
Neuroendocrine tumors of the pancreas
Specific formations that develop from special cells are called neuroendocrine tumors. As is known, neuroendocrine cells are present in all human organs. Their characteristic feature is the secretion of hormones. Early diagnosis of neuroendocrine pancreatic cancer is difficult, as this species progresses very slowly and, as a rule, shows no symptoms at the early stages of the disease. Neuroendocrine tumors are classified depending on the source of origin. Among the most common neoplasms of this type are: vipomes, insulinomas, gastrinomas, glucagonomes. The causes of this disease are still unknown. It is assumed that a fundamental role in their development is played by genetic mutations that contribute to the disruption of the growth of neuroendocrine cells. Especially the risk of the appearance of such a disease is great for people with hereditary predisposition.
Hormonal pancreatic tumors
Hormonal and hormone-active pancreatic tumors are benign neoplasms. The clinical picture of them can be different. In practice, most often there are hormone-active formations, such as gastrinoma, insulinoma, glucagon. The primary symptom of the development of the disease of this species is the emergence of a violation of metabolic processes in the human body. This is due to the fact that there is a large accumulation of hormones in the blood. Symptoms of pancreatic lesions appear after a certain time after the onset of the disease. The most effective methods of treatment are surgical intervention and chemotherapy.
Pancreatitis and pancreatic tumor
It's not a secret that if a person suffers from pancreatitis for a long time, the risk of developing a cancer is significantly increased. The risk of developing a pancreatic cancer in the presence of pancreatitis increases bad habits. If pancreatitis is characterized by active calcification, then the likelihood of cancer is high. As an additional risk, the presence of a disease such as diabetes mellitus can be considered. The genetic factor combined with inflammation several times increases the likelihood of oncology. As we know, inflammation in a chronic form is accompanied by a violation of metabolic processes in the tissues of the gland. This ultimately leads to the degeneration of cells. Such a tumor in most cases gives a metastasis to the kidneys, liver, lymph nodes. The main localization in a number of cases occurs on the gland's head.
Pancreatic body tumor
A pancreatic body tumor as well as a tail can be undetected for a long time. Unlike other varieties of pancreatic cancer, in this case, the patient for a long period of time does not observe the presence of any symptoms. Symptoms of malaise in most cases develop in the late stages of the disease. The main such symptoms include: dizziness, a marked sense of weakness, loss of appetite, a feeling of discomfort in the abdominal area or mild pain. As can be seen, the symptomatology is rather meager. This is because the body of the pancreas is located far from the bile ducts. The tumor of the body in a short period of time is able to germinate into the mesenteric arteries and veins. There is a death of cells that produce insulin, so the risk of developing secondary diabetes increases. If the tumor sprouts into the portal vein or the spleen vessels, the patient may have severe pain syndrome. Despite the fact that the cancerous tumor grows slowly, it has a strong effect on the human hormonal background. The symptomatology of the disease is ultimately determined by the type of cells into which the tumor grows. So, if there is an excessive amount of glucagon in the blood, the patient will experience severe itching, and when the glucose rises, hypoglycemic conditions will appear.
If the size of the pancreatic cancer tumor is about 4 cm, this may indicate that the disease is progressing. A tumor of 4 cm can for a long time not have symptoms if it does not squeeze large ducts. In this case, it is necessary to immediately begin treatment activities - radiotherapy, chemotherapy, surgical intervention. If it starts to sprout into the nerve plexus or squeeze, then the person begins to experience the strongest pain. In such a situation, the probability of developing or worsening of pancreatitis increases. The method of treatment of the disease is selected as a result of the analysis of the morphological nature of the tumor, the degree of tolerability of the surgical intervention, and the presence of complications.