Doctor On Call: Understanding Pancreatic Cancer, Who's At Risk, & What Treatment Is Available

The doctor is in, and this time, Dr. Isaac Kriley with Ascension St John Medical Center joined News On 6 to talk about Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month.

Understanding Pancreatic Cancer?

Dr. Kriley began by explaining the basics of pancreatic cancer:

"Most of the time, when we're talking about pancreatic cancer, we're talking about pancreatic adenocarcinoma. The pancreas essentially has two functions that fall under endocrine function, which is managing our sugars, and exocrine function, which is the enzymes help us to digest food. Pancreas cancer is cancer of those cells that help us to make the enzymes to digest food."

Age and Risk Factors

When asked about the age groups most prone to pancreatic cancer, Dr. Kriley noted that while it is mostly older people, it is not underheard of for younger people to develop the disease.

"Most of the time, we will see patients in their 60s or early 70s. It is pretty uncommon in younger groups. I mean, I've seen some patients in their 40s. It's pretty rare to see someone younger than that, though not impossible."

Symptoms and Early Detection

Discussing the signs and symptoms of pancreatic cancer, Dr. Kriley explained that symptoms can depend on where the cancer develops.

"If the cancer happens in the right side of the pancreas, or what we call the head, then sometimes patients will notice very dark urine. It's usually the first thing they'll notice, sometimes pale stools, and then sometimes the whites of the eyes will turn yellow, or maybe even the skin will darken. If it happens in the left side of the pancreas, pain is a presenting symptom, and then sometimes it just affects the way the pancreas works, and I don't really understand that how, but sometimes diabetes will become very much out of control, or people will lose weight without trying."

Treatment Options and Survival Rates

Addressing the treatment options available, Dr. Kriley said that treatment can vary.

"Treatment depends on stage. So if it's something that can be cut out, something that is resectable, treatment will always be a combination of surgery and chemotherapy. About four out of five patients when our diagnosis already have a disease that's beyond what the scalpel can treat. And so for them, treatment will be chemotherapy, maybe radiation, rarely immunotherapy," he said.

Kriley also acknowledged that experts are constantly working to improve survival rates.

"People are constantly studying new chemotherapy regimens to try to extend survival. It's probably the area that people are working on the most. There has been some work in using immunotherapy for pancreas cancer, but it so far, hasn't really shown itself to be a cancer that responds well to immunotherapies."