Pancreatic Cancer Dictionary

abdominal pain: Occurs when growing tumors press against nerves, causing back and abdominal pain. Is present in up to 75 percent of all pancreatic cancer patients.

acinar carcinoma: A rare, very aggressive form of adenocarcinoma that starts in the acinar cells, which produce digestive enzymes. Can cause excessive production of digestive enzymes, which may lead to liver tumors.

adenocarcinoma: The most common type of pancreas cancer, it begins in the glandular ducts that manufacture pancreatic digestive juices, and are considered very aggressive neoplasms.

adenosquamous carcinoma: A rare, highly invasive malignant tumor that almost always has an extremely poor prognosis even with aggressive treatment.

benign pancreatic cysts (adenomas): Abnormal tissue growths that do not invade surrounding tissue or metastasize and spread to other organs.

biopsy: The only method of making a definitive diagnosis of pancreatic tumors. In a biopsy, a small sample of tissue is removed from the pancreas and examined under microscopy for signs of abnormal cell growth.