The pancreas is a 6-inch long organ in the body, located behind the stomach in the abdomen. The pancreas contains exocrine and endocrine glands that produce pancreatic juices, insulin, and hormones. Pancreatic juices, also called pancreatic enzymes, are made by the exocrine glands and released into the intestines to help with digestion. Around 95% of the pancreas is exocrine glands and ducts. The endocrine part of the pancreas are arranged in small clusters of cells called islets of Langerhans. Islets of Langerhans release insulin and glucagon into the bloodstream and those two hormones manage the level of sugar in the blood. When these two hormones are not working like they are supposed to, it often results in diabetes. Cancer is a class of diseases that are caused mostly by out of control cell growth, and pancreatic cancer occurs when uncontrolled cell growth begins in the pancreas. Abnormal cells continue to divide in the pancreas to the point where the create tumors in the pancreas. Pancreatic cancer is catergorized depending on whether or not the exocrine or endocrine of the pancreas. There has to be an important distinction between the two broad types of pancreatic cancer because there are different risk factors, causes, symptoms, diagnostic tests, prognoses, and treatments. Tumors that are affecting the exocrine functions are the most common out of the pancreatic cancers. Some of the time tumors or cysts are benign (tumors that stay in one spot and demonstrates limited growth), they are called cystadenomas. But it is more likely to find malignant tumors and they are called adenocarcinomas. These account for about 95% of exocrine pancreatic cancers. Adenocarcinomas, according to the National Cancer Institute, are cancers ... ... middle of paper ... ...II pancreatic cancer are postoperative chemoradiation therapy and postoperative chemotherapy, in which after the patient recieves surgery and are followed up with 5-FU chemotherapy and radiation therapy (postoperative chemoradiation therapy) or gemcitabine or leucovorin (postoperative chemotherapy). STAGE III AND IV As I stated before, it is really no use in trying to treat stage III and IV pancreatic cancer because death is inevitable in these cases. However, in stage III, palliative surgery and stent placements to bypass clogged areas in the ducts or small intestine are used. Chemotherapy and chemoradiation are used also. In stage IV, palliative treatments like nerve blocks and stent placements are used to relieve pain. Clinical trials (a type of research study that tests how well new medical approaches work in people) are tried and tested on these patients also.
Our body obtains the energy by digesting the carbohydrates into glucose. Volumes of glucose are required by the body to create ATP. ATP is short for 'Adenosine Triphosphate ' and is an energy carrier. When we consume too many carbohydrates our body produces a lot of glucose and as a result blood glucose levels rise and sometimes they may rise over the normal range of blood glucose concentration. To bring it back within the healthy range, the homeostatic system of blood glucose regulation is used. The blood flows through the pancreas where the beta cells, receptors, detect the high blood glucose level. To counteract this stimuli beta cells alert the control centre, which are also the beta cells located in the islets of Langerhans in the pancreas. The secretion of insulin has to be done quickly but can only be carried out when insulin gene is switched on. Turning on the insulin gene switch can take 30 minutes to an hour therefore, the production of insulin by beta cells are done in advance and are packaged in vesicles right until blood glucose rises. Glucose comes into the beta cell to trigger the vesicle that contains the insulin to move towards the plasma membrane and fuse. This releases the insulin into the bloodstream where they are distributed throughout the body and only affect specific target cells. The receptor, a protein, on the target cell’s plasma membrane recognises and connects
Adenoma is a benign tumor that may affect multiple organs, while adenocarcinoma is a malignant tumor that may affect multiple organs. One is benign and one is cancerous ("Definition of adenoma in English").
The article, “Pancreas Transplant: A Cure for Diabetes?” written by Eli A. Friedman, M.D., explores the possibility of a cure for type 1 diabetes and the implications involving this experimental procedure. The article discusses current procedures and treatments that are commonly used to control type 1 diabetes and highlights provisional treatments that evolved into pancreatic transplant surgery.
Non-malignant meningioma was most frequently reported as it accounts for more than a third of all tumors. Glioblastoma was the second most frequent type to be reported followed by tumors of the pituitary.
Over 95% of colorectal cancers are ad enocarcinomas. These are cancers of the glandular cells that line the inside of the colon and rectum. Other, less common type of tumors may also develop in the colon and rectum. Carcinoid tumors develop from hormone-producing cells of the intestine. Gastrointestinal stromal tumors develop in the connective tissue and muscle layers in the wall of the colon and rectum. Lymphomas are cancers of immune system cells that typically develop in lymph nodes but may also start in the colon and rectum or other organs.
The pancreas is composed of exocrine and endocrine tissues. The exocrine portion of the pancreas synthesizes and secretes pancreatic juices. The endocrine portion is composed of miniscule islands of cells, called the islets of Langerhans. These islets of Langerhans do not release their secretions into the pancreatic ducts. Instead, they release hormones into the blood stream, and these hormones in turn help control blood glucose levels (Function of the Pancreas). Beta cells of the islets of Langerhans secrete insulin, which
Thyroid caner is a disease in which the cells of the thyroid gland become abnormal, grow uncontrollably and form a mass of cells called a tumor. Some tumors grow and enlarge only at the site where they began. These types of tumors are referred to as benign tumors. Other tumors not only enlarge locally, but they also have the potential to invade and destroy the normal tissues around them and to spread to other regions of the body. These types of tumors are called malignant tumors or cancer.() Malignant tumors of the thyroid gland tend to develop gradually and remain localized. The tumors usually appear as nodules or lumps of tissue growing on or inside the gland itself. Almost 95% of these lumps or nodules are non-cancerous (benign), and are usually caused by thyroid conditions such as goiters (Shin 422). The American Cancer Society estimates that there will be about 23,600 new cases of thyroid cancer in the U.S. in 2004 (Thackery 1057). Women are three times more likely to develop thyroid cancer than men. Although the disease also affects younger people, most people who develop thyroid cancer are over 50 years of age. Caucasians are affected more often than African-Americans (Rubin 88).
Pancreatic transplantation is a surgical procedure in which a diseased pancreas is replaced with a healthy one in type 1 diabetic patients enabling the production of insulin, which they can’t produce endogenously. Pancreas transplant is commonly combined with kidney transplant which was proved to reduce the complications of type 1 DM. Pancreatic transplant is the patients’ key for insulin independence, which in turn, leads to a better quality of life with less diabetes complications, it showed successful outcomes of 76% with well functioning Pancreas a year after. The procedure has been known to be quite popular (1), it had been estimated that over 300 people in the UK are on the waiting list for the transplant (1). Ever since the success of the early pancreas transplant, people are looking forward performing that operation to solve their problems with diabetes.
Cancer occurs when cells divide uncontrollably. Cells keep dividing even though new cells are not needed. Change from normal to cancerous cells requires gene alterations.
To begin, cancer starts to form when abnormal cells grow. Abnormal cells form when the DNA, is damaged. The fewer the amount of abnormal cells, the more treatable the cancer will be. In normal cells, the damaged DNA either gets repaired, or dies. In cancer cells, the damaged DNA doesn’t get repaired or dies like normal cells. The damaged cell instead replicates itself. It is difficult to understand exactly why or how cancer starts to grow, but common reasons can be from sun exposure or cigarette smoking. Cancer cells usually form a tumor. A type of cancer where a tumor doesn’t form is Leukemia. On the other hand, not all tumors are cancerous. There are benign and malignant tumors or masses. Benign tumors cannot spread to other organs of the body, but can be on the larger side and press on other organs. Benign tumors are not cancerous, but can still instill problems. Benign tumors can become malignant, or cancerous, after a period of time. Malignant tumors are the ones that are cancerous from the very beginning. This ...
There are treatments but it all depends on the stage the colon cancer is in. For stage 0 surgery is appropriate. It is done by using colonoscopy. For all other stages colon resection is done. Chemotherapy is done to patients that have stage 3 colon cancer after surgery for a good six to eight months.
...e disease process of pancreatitis. This situation has changed my practice by looking more in-depth into disease processes and the complications I could be faced with. I need to beware of how conditions can change and always be one step ahead in foreseeing these changes to be able to deal with these situations when they arise.
The pancreas is a gland that is located between the stomach and the spine. It is right before the small intestine in the digestive track. The pancreas’ main job is to produce insulin for your body. The insulin produced by the pancreas is used to regulate one’s blood sugar level. The pancreas is an important factor to the digestive system because of its control of the blood sugar levels. The pancreas produces different hormones that help maintain blood sugar’s balance but the biggest one is insulin along with glucagon. Glucagon and insulin work together. Glucagon is the hormone that raises the blood glucose or sugar levels in your body, whereas insulin regulates blood glucose and lowers blood glucose or sugar levels. Insulin helps the body use glucose but it also help the body store sugar for energy. Insulin is produced and released to then allow glucose to enter the blood stream. When the blood has a high enough percent of glucose, a signal is sent to the pancreas to stop the production of insulin. Without it the body cannot function. Some of the most common examples of what happens when the body doesn’t have enough blood sugar are type one and type two diabetes as well as hyperglycemia and
Cancer cells develop when a normal cell refuses to die and continues to grow to form new abnormal cells. These cancer cells are also able to invade other tissues and organs that normal cells cannot. Cancer cells can be caused by DNA damage. Normally, ...
Oncology is a field of medicine that deals with the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer and tumors. Cancer is undoubtedly a serious and potentially life-threatening illness. It is the leading cause of death in Americans under the age of 85 and the second leading cause of death in older Americans. There will be 1.5 million new cases of cancer occurring in the United States coming year. There are more than 100 different types of cancers known to man. There’s no cure that has been discovered for this deadly disease, but there is in-fact ways in which the disease can be treated. In order to accomplish this, specialist like an oncologist must use a variety of treatments, such as radiation, surgery, medical and interventional; which