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Diagnosis and prognosis of Pancreatic Cancer
Blood tests that assess various pancreatic and liver functions may suggest pancreatic cancer. If cancer is suspected, a needle biopsy is usually conducted to examine pancreatic cells for signs of cancer. Extensive use of imaging procedures is also required owing to the pancreas's location deep within the abdominal cavity. Imaging techniques include computed tomography (CT) scans, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and ultrasound. An endoscope can also be used for injection of dye into the bile duct, which allows better X-ray imaging of this structure. Angiography, a procedure that uses X rays to view blood vessels, is sometimes used to determine if the cancer has spread through the walls of the vessels feeding into the pancreas.
Once pancreatic cancer has been diagnosed, its stage is then determined to indicate how far the cancer has progressed. Stage I cancers are confined to the pancreas and have not spread to nearby lymph nodes. Stage II cancers have spread locally to the bile duct or small intestine but have not reached the lymph nodes, whereas stage III tumours have reached these nodes. Stage IV cancers have spread to other organs such as the lungs, liver, spleen, or colon.
The survival rate from pancreatic cancer is lower than that seen with many other cancers because the symptoms of pancreatic cancer often do not become obvious until the later stages of the disease. The average five-year survival rate from all stages of pancreatic cancer is extremely low, as is the one-year survival rate. However, survival rates are higher for patients who have their cancer diagnosed early in the course of the disease.
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