Why is the five-year survival rate for pancreatic cancer less than 1%? Doctor: Let me give you an analysis from these 4 points. Let’s take a look

There is a cancer, its incidence rate is not high, the number of deaths every year is not many, but it is called the king of cancer!

　　This cancer is the legendary: pancreatic cancer!

　　Pancreatic cancer is one of the malignant tumors of the digestive system. Although its incidence rate is not high, if you observe the statistical report of cancer data in 2020, you will find that the number of pancreatic cancer patients diagnosed in this year is the same as the number of dead patients. . This means that the vast majority of pancreatic cancer patients have gone from diagnosis to death in just one year!

　　Relevant data surveys show that the five-year overall survival rate of pancreatic cancer , which is the malignant tumor with the worst prognosis. So the question is, what is the reason behind the staggering death rate of pancreatic cancer?

1. Special location

　　The pancreas is actually a very small, long and narrow gland. It is placed horizontally on the plane of the 1-2 lumbar vertebrae on the back wall of the abdomen . Not only that , there are a lot of important blood vessels around the pancreas .

　　It is precisely because the location of the pancreas is very special, not to mention that it loses the opportunity for surgery if it is discovered at a late stage. Even if cancer is discovered at an early stage, its operation is the most difficult of all surgical operations, and patients may experience complications during the operation. The perioperative mortality rate is quite high;

2. Early detection is difficult

　　As mentioned above, pancreatic cancer can be diagnosed at an early stage. Although there is a certain degree of difficulty in surgery, patients at least still have the opportunity for surgery. However, it is quite difficult to diagnose pancreatic cancer early. Because the function of the pancreas is very special, it plays the role of secreting insulin and pancreatic juice containing various digestive enzymes .

　　Not to mention that there are no symptoms of pancreatic cancer in the early stage, even if symptoms appear gradually, affected by the function and location of the pancreas, patients often think that they have chronic gastric disease, or even suspect liver disease, and rarely consider that it is the pancreas. question;

3. Degree of malignancy

　　Pancreatic cancer is the most poorly differentiated and most malignant type of all visceral malignancies. Regardless of the specific pathological type of the patient, the degree of malignancy is very high, and even in the stage of carcinoma in situ, the patient may experience infiltration of surrounding tissues .

　　Not only that, there are a lot of intricate blood vessels around and behind the pancreas. Cancer cells can easily invade blood vessels and undergo hematogenous metastasis through blood circulation;

4. Difficulty of treatment

　　As mentioned above, pancreatic cancer surgery is quite difficult. Even so, only less than 20% of patients still have the opportunity for surgery, and the rest of the patients can only control the progression of the disease through radiotherapy and chemotherapy, targeted therapy, etc.

　　Leaving aside the cost of treatment, pancreatic cancer, a malignant tumor , is actually not sensitive to radiotherapy and chemotherapy, and targeted drugs are also prone to drug resistance. Therefore, after entering the advanced stage, treatment is basically futile.

　　Affected by the above four factors, the prognosis of pancreatic cancer is quite poor. For patients who did not receive any treatment, the survival time was only about 4 months. The average survival time of patients undergoing bypass surgery is only about 7 months . The survival period of patients undergoing resection is only about 16 months.

　　However, for pancreatic cancer itself, patients do not need to be overly pessimistic, because it is similar to other malignancies. Early diagnosis and treatment are the keys to improving and improving the prognosis of pancreatic cancer. Even if a cure cannot be completely achieved, the survival period and quality of life of patients will be significantly improved.

　　Therefore, regular targeted cancer screening is necessary for high-risk groups of pancreatic cancer, such as a family history of pancreatic cancer, a long history of alcoholism, acute and chronic pancreatic diseases, and diabetes.