Pancreatic tumors are various types and the right diagnosis of each type is one of the primary clinical requirements to decide the proper treatment plan.
Pancreatic cancer is not a single disease.
It is possible that ten different varieties of tumors can lump together to form pancreatic cancer that classifies as exocrine or endocrine tumors.
Every pancreatic tumor is histologically different under microscopical analysis.
Different treatments require for some specific classified pancreatic tumors.
Every pancreatic tumor has its individual prognosis.
Therefore, the classification of pancreatic tumors is vital for treating them correctly.
Adenocarcinoma of Pancreas Tumors
Most pancreatic cancer patients have adenocarcinoma of pancreas tumors.
This type of malignant tumor is responsible for more than 75% of pancreatic cancer.
Adenocarcinoma of the pancreas tumor is classified under exocrine pancreatic cancer.
Neuroendocrine tumors
Neuroendocrine tumors have some hereditary connections and can affect generation to generation of the impacted families.
Hormones produced from these neuroendocrine tumors affected the pancreas can cause symptoms that condition is termed as functional or syndromic.
However, neuroendocrine tumors not only occur in the pancreas but different organs can be the origin.
The malignant nature of some neuroendocrine tumors is aggressive, but some have relatively slow growth.
Multidisciplinary clinical expertise requires managing the complexity of neuroendocrine tumor-affected patients.
Neuroendocrine tumors are relatively less common than other exocrine neoplasms.
Only 1-5% of pancreatic cancer patients have neuroendocrine neoplasms or “endocrine” or “islet cell” tumors.
The type of treatment of neuroendocrine tumors is quite different from other cancers in the body.
The cells of neuroendocrine tumors are recognized as being “neuroendocrine” (having neuroendocrine differentiation) because they either produce a hormone or because the cells of the tumor contain small granules (called neuroendocrine granules) that are characteristic of normal cells that produce hormones.
It is very essential that neuroendocrine neoplasms be differentiated from nonendocrine because the symptoms and the treatments for the two neoplasms are very different.
Cystic tumors including Intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms (IPMNs)
Cystic tumors are a distinct variety of exocrine tumors.
They are amalgamated by the development of fluid-filled fissures. They are common but relatively harmless.
Lesser cystic tumors can form malignancy.
Intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms (IPMNs) are tumors that develop within the pancreatic ducts.
The pancreatic ducts are the tube-like structure surrounding the pancreas that is used to transport fluids to the gut to aid in digestion.
Intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms produce thick fluid or mucin by the tumor cells.
IPMNs are imperative because some of such tumors can convert to malignancy and become invasive cancer in case of untreated conditions as similar as colon polyps can progress into colon cancer if left untreated.
Therefore, there is a risk of conversion of IPMNs into invasive pancreatic cancer.
Early diagnosis and treatment of IPMNs help to prevent the development of a pancreatic tumor into an aggressive.
Any type of invasive cancer is difficult to treat.
Besides this, most IPMNs will never progress to cancer.
In such cases, periodical clinical observation is safe for the patient.
However, clinicians often have this challenge to take the action of right diagnosis, and based on that they could decide whether they would suggest surgical removal of the tumor or safely observed.
Reference:
https://pathology.jhu.edu/pancreas/types-of-tumors
