Around the world, experts have expressed concern over rising rates of pancreatic cancer among youth – however, new research has shown that the surge in cases has not been accompanied by any increase in deaths from the deadly disease. So, what could be the reason behind this – scientists say today’s more sensitive imaging scans may catch early, non-fatal cases of pancreatic cancer in people under 40 that were previously easily missed.

“Reports from multiple registries have raised concern over the increasing incidence of pancreatic cancer in young individuals, particularly women, in the United States and globally,” the researchers wrote in their report published in the journal Medicine. History of Internal Medicine“Although some attribute this trend to rising rates of obesity, others have found no clear cause.”

Pancreatic cancer occurs when cells in your pancreas mutate and grow out of control and form a tumor. Doctors previously said, early-stage pancreatic tumors typically did not show up on imaging tests and for that reason, many people, especially young people, were not diagnosed until the cancer had spread.

Most pancreatic cancers occur in the endocrine

According to experts, the data suggest a surprising finding that pancreatic cancer statistics link together two different types of tumors that arise in the same organ – endocrine cancer and adenocarcinoma. While the first type takes years to grow and spread, the second cancer is usually faster-growing and aggressive.

“The rising incidence of pancreatic cancer in young Americans is primarily due to an increase in the detection of small, early-stage endocrine cancers—not an increase in pancreatic adenocarcinoma,” researchers from Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston wrote.

And so, new cases of pancreatic cancer are increasing, while deaths are not,” suggesting that the recent increase in early pancreatic cancer reflects the detection of previously undiagnosed disease rather than an actual increase in cancer incidence. ”

Pancreatic cancer surgeries have doubled in the last 20 years

According to Dr. Vishal Patel, who led the research, data from 2001-2019 showed that the number of pancreatic cancer surgeries in women and men has almost doubled among people aged 15 to 39 years.

However, the increase was limited only to cancers that were in very early stages, pointing to a phenomenon called overdiagnosis: an increase in incidence without a corresponding increase in deaths.

Dr. Patel says most malignant adenocarcinomas are detected early when they turn up on abdominal scans done for other reasons. However, the incidence of adenocarcinoma among young people at all stages has remained stable. Meanwhile, less harmful endocrine tumors in the pancreas are being detected by increasingly sensitive CT scans or MRI, which are being used more frequently than before for a variety of purposes.

“The more you’re imaged, the more these things will come up,” said study author Dr. H. Gilbert Welch, a senior researcher in the Center for Surgery and Public Health at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. new York Times. And once something is discovered, doctors and patients alike may feel they need to take action.

According to available data, pancreatic cancer is the tenth most common cancer in men and the eighth most common cancer in women worldwide.

Early signs and symptoms of pancreatic cancer

Although pancreatic cancer has no very early symptoms, symptoms usually emerge when the tumor begins to affect other organs in your digestive system. Some of these may include:

• Jaundice
• dark urine
• light colored stool
• upper abdominal pain
• middle back pain
• tiredness and fatigue
• itchy skin
• nausea and vomiting
• gas and bloating
• loss of appetite
• formation of blood clots
• weight loss
• new onset type 2 diabetes

Doctors say pancreatic cancer has early symptoms, but some people develop vague symptoms up to a year before they are diagnosed.

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