Bright thinking for pancreatic cancer

The pancreas is part of your digestive system. It aids digestion and helps to regulate blood sugars. Around 10,500 people have a diagnosis of pancreatic cancer each year in the UK.

Similar to liver cancer, there are few symptoms of pancreatic cancer. Symptoms to look out for are:

the whites of your eyes or your skin turn yellow (jaundice), and you may also have itchy skin, darker pee and paler poo than usual
loss of appetite or losing weight without trying to
feeling tired or having no energy
a high temperature, or feeling hot or shivery

Other symptoms can affect your digestion, such as:

feeling or being sick
diarrhoea or constipation, or other changes in your poo
pain at the top part of your tummy and your back, which may feel worse when you're eating or lying down and better when you lean forward
symptoms of indigestion, such as feeling bloated

Source: nhs.uk

Pancreatic cancer is the 11th most common cancer in the UK, accounting for 3% of all new cancer cases. It currently also has one of the lowest survival rates, which is why we are determined to support cutting-edge research that improves patient outcomes.

You can visit the NHS website or Macmillian to find out more about symptoms, diagnosis and treatment.

What is pancreatic cancer?

Pancreatic cancer is part of the Hepato-Pacreato-Biliary (HPB) group of cancers. These cancers include:

Pancreatic cancer
Primary liver cancer (cancer that starts in the liver)
Secondary liver cancer (metastatic cancer; cancer which started in another part of the body and has spread to the liver)
Bile duct cancer (cholangiocarcinoma)
GI neuroendocrine tumours
Gall bladder cancer

At least a third of patients who develop bowel or colorectal cancer go on to develop secondary liver cancer. This means that each day, 40 people somewhere in the UK will be diagnosed with secondary liver cancer arising from the large intestine.

Pancreatic cancer research

We are urgently funding research into pancreatic cancer causes, treatments and outcomes. These research projects include:

Mr Nabeel Merali is a ST5 trainee in Liver and Pancreatic Surgery at the Royal Surrey NHS Trust and is working on a PhD project at the University of Surrey. His research focuses on the influence of the microbiome on pancreatic cancer.

Bacteria present in the gastrointestinal tract and within the tumour itself can influence the response of the immune system against the cancer and also the effectiveness of chemotherapy.

Nabeel’s project aims to find the ‘good bacteria’ in the tumours and bile fluid associated with longer patient survival. This data will be used to develop ‘biomarkers’ able to diagnose and stratify the disease, and discover new immune response mechanisms that can be exploited to create better treatments, ultimately improving patient outcomes and survival.

Your support can help to fund research like Nabeel’s, helping to make a real difference to pancreatic cancer patients.