The First Hormonal Signs Of Pancreatic Cancer

Pancreatic cancer is a form of cancer that has the worst prognosis because it increases the production of hormones in the organ, which can have serious consequences.

In general, cancer is a disease that can affect most cells in our body. Pancreatic cancer is manifested by the cells in the pancreas starting to divide uncontrollably. It affects both men and women equally often and can occur at all stages of life.

The pancreas is an elongated organ located in the back of the stomach. It performs many important functions in the body.

The pancreas is formed by two types of cells:

• Endocrine cells: These are normal in the growths of the pancreas. Most importantly, they produce hormones that are released directly into the bloodstream. They usually produce insulin and glucagon. These are able to regulate the amount of glucose in the blood.

• Exocrine cells: These synthetic enzymes, which in turn travel through tiny ducts to the duodenum. They form the duct of the pancreas. It is connected to the gallbladder (which comes from the liver) towards the small intestines. The enzymes they form help with the digestion of certain nutrients such as lipids and fats.

Also read: How to prevent indigestion and flatulence

What types of pancreatic cancer are there?

Overall, there are two types of pancreatic cancer, all depending on the type of cells they affect:

• Exocrine cancer of the pancreas:  This is the type that shows up most often. In most cases, it develops in cells that produce enzymes for digestion.

• Neuroendocrine tumors of the pancreas (malignant or cancerous): These affect the pancreatic growth cells, which produce hormones. Thus, they release them directly into the bloodstream.

In addition, we can distinguish between the different subtypes depending on the cell type affected by the cancer (see the most common symptoms.)

What are the most common symptoms of pancreatic cancer?

Many people get no symptoms of this disease at all. The symptoms can also vary depending on the type of pancreatic cancer that the patient is suffering from. We can thus distinguish between:

Exocrine cancer of the pancreas

• Fatigue, exhaustion or general lack of energy.

• Dizziness and vomiting.
• Lack of appetite. This often results in unwanted weight loss.
• Increased size of gallbladder and / or liver.
• Abdominal discomfort that can spread to nearby areas (such as the back.)
• Jaundice or yellow skin. This happens because the cancer blocks the bile duct and bilirubin accumulates. Bilirubin is a pigment formed by the liver that normally reaches the duodenum through this channel. Other related symptoms are a darker urine and changes in the composition of the stool (changes in color and structure.)

Here are some of the hormonal symptoms:

• Changes in the structure of the patient’s fat layer. This is due to the incorrect release of enzymes from the pancreas.
• Diabetes: In this case, the exocrine cells destroy the synthetic insulin. Therefore, blood sugar levels rise and the characteristic symptoms of this disease show up.

• Slight change in blood sugar level.

Neuroendocrine tumors of the pancreas (malignant or cancerous): Depending on the type of cell that develops the cancer:

• Gastrinoma: This disease manifests itself in the cells that produce gastrin and increases its production. In general, this substance helps to synthesize more acid in the stomach. This disorder is known as the Zollinger-Ellison syndrome.
• Insulinoma: It affects the cells that produce insulin that divide uncontrollably. It causes hypoglycaemia or high blood sugar.
• Glucagonom:  A rare tumor that develops in the cells that produce glucagon. It causes hyperglycemia or elevated blood sugar levels.
• Somatostatinoma: Somatostatin normally helps regulate other hormones. This tumor can increase the level of this substance.
• PPomy: It is associated with an overproduction of the pancreatic polypeptides (PP), which regulate the functions of the pancreas under normal circumstances.

• VIPomy:  It changes the cells that synthesize vasoactive intestinal peptides (VIP.) The most visible symptom is increased amount of stool.