Pancreatic Cancer Years in the Making

[Guest guest]

Pancreatic Cancer Years in the Making

The lead time for cancer of the pancreas to develop is extensive,

possibly

opening up a decade-long window of opportunity for doctors to someday

screen for and remove tumors on this vital organ, a study in the Oct. 28

Nature

shows.

A companion study finds unusual chromosomal rearrangements in this

deadly cancer, a characteristic that might provide insights into the

cancer formation process.

Scientists have puzzled over the deadly nature of pancreatic cancer, in

which fewer than 5 percent of patients survive for five years after

being diagnosed. By then the cancer has usually spread beyond the

pancreas to lymph nodes or other organs.

Read more:

http://ow.ly/31qOU