![\"670](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/5269124_3_articleinline_01M4ZJSBA4EAQJJ5QBEDHCWVTE_20_1_.jpg\" "\\"670")
670 people are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in Ireland. Picture: Alamy<\/p>\nPancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest forms of cancer, yet it remains a disease that is rarely talked about.<\/p>\n
We spoke to Professor Giuseppe Kito Fusai, a consultant hepato-pancreato-biliary surgeon, who highlighted the key warning signs to look out for and the risk factors we can and can\u2019t control.<\/p>\n
Pancreatic cancer occurs when abnormal cells in the pancreas start to grow and divide in an uncontrolled way.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe pancreas is one of the glands which sits on the back of our stomach, and pancreatic cancer is a malignant process,\u201d says Fusai.<\/p>\n
Around 95% of all pancreatic cancers are exocrine cancers. <\/p>\n
\u201cPancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma is the most common type of pancreatic cancer, which affects the vast majority of patients,\u201d says the surgeon.<\/p>\n
\u201cHowever, in a smaller number of patients, there are some rarer variants such as acinar cell carcinoma and adenosquamous carcinoma.\u201d<\/p>\n
Each year, around 670 people are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in Ireland.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlthough pancreatic cancer is much less common than other types of cancers, such as breast cancer, it remains one of the most lethal types of cancer,\u201d says Fusai.<\/p>\n
The disease has a poor survival rate, with just 13% of patients surviving five years or more after initial diagnosis.<\/p>\n
This is because most cases are diagnosed at an advanced stage, explains the surgeon.<\/p>\n
\u201cA big problem with pancreatic cancer is that it\u2019s quite silent and is frequently detected and diagnosed very late when it has already spread to other organs,\u201d says Fusai.<\/p>\n
\n Age: Pancreatic cancer is more common in older people.<\/p>\n
\n Sex: \u201cPancreatic cancer is slightly more common in men than in women,\u201d says Fusai.<\/p>\n
\n Family history: The risk of pancreatic cancer is also increased in people who have a family history (first-degree relative) of pancreatic cancer, or have certain inherited gene changes such as the BRCA2 gene.<\/p>\n
\n Tobacco use: \u201cSmoking remains one of the biggest and most important risk factors of pancreatic cancer,\u201d says Fusai.<\/p>\n
\n Alcohol consumption:\u00a0\u201cExcessive alcohol consumption can affect the pancreas, cause inflammation and lead to chronic pancreatitis,\u201d explains the surgeon.<\/p>\n
Pancreatic cancer is more common in people with chronic pancreatitis.<\/p>\n
\n Body weight and obesity: \u201cObesity and being overweight are other risk factors of pancreatic cancer,\u201d says Fusai.<\/p>\n
\n Diabetes: \u201cDiabetes is also considered a potential risk factor,\u201d says Fusai.<\/p>\n
The surgeon advises people not to underestimate or ignore non-specific symptoms.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome of the early symptoms that people with pancreatic cancer present with are often non-specific, such as vague abdominal pain, backache and weight loss \u2014 which are all symptoms that could be related to a number of other things,\u201d says Fusai.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, it\u2019s really important to investigate any symptoms that don\u2019t resolve quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n
He adds that new-onset diabetes can also be an early warning sign of pancreatic cancer.<\/p>\n
\u201cNewly diagnosed diabetes should always prompt urgent investigations and a scan,\u201d says Fusai.<\/p>\n
The development of jaundice is also a red flag that requires medical attention.<\/p>\n
\u201cYellow discolouration of the skin and the sclera (the whites of the eyes) and dark urine all suggest that there is a blockage of the bile duct. This is the duct which drains the bile from the liver into the intestine, and a growth from the pancreas can block this and cause jaundice,\u201d explains Fusai.<\/p>\n
670 people are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in Ireland. Picture: Alamy<\/p>\n
\u201cThe gold standard test for pancreatic cancer is a contrast-enhanced CT scan, which will clearly show a mass in the pancreas. But if further confirmation is needed, a biopsy might be conducted,\u201d says Fusai.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe other tests that might be conducted to diagnose pancreatic cancer are a liver MRI or an FDG PET scan.\u201d<\/p>\n
The treatment depends on the size and type of pancreatic cancer, where it is, if it has spread and a patient\u2019s general health.<\/p>\n
If the pancreatic cancer is found early and has not spread, surgery might be an option to remove it.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen the cancer is still operable, which happens in approximately 15% of newly diagnosed patients, often the recommendation is to go ahead with surgery and do a radical resection,\u201d says Fusai.<\/p>\n
The specific type of surgery depends on where the tumour is located within the pancreas.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf the tumour is in the head of the pancreas, we will do a Whipple procedure, which is a pretty extensive and complex operation,\u201d says Fusai.<\/p>\n
Treatments such as chemotherapy or radiotherapy might be offered to try to control the cancer and help patients live longer if surgery isn\u2019t an option.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest forms of cancer, yet it remains a disease that is rarely…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":662842,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[33970,258,103,61,60],"class_list":["post-662841","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-health-body","tag-cancer","tag-health","tag-ie","tag-ireland"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/662841","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=662841"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/662841\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/662842"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=662841"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=662841"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=662841"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}