Serious Causes And Risk Factors Of Pancreatic Cancer

Chronic Pancreatitis

A chronic pancreatitis patient may develop pancreatic cancer as a complication or result of their chronic condition. Chronic pancreatitis is a term that is used to describe long term inflammation of the pancreatic tissues. One of the most common causes of chronic pancreatitis in the population is excessive alcohol consumption over an extended period. When the tissues of the pancreas become inflamed, specific immune-modulating cells are stimulated to release growth hormones to promote the process of tissue repair and replacement. The growth hormones produced in the inflammatory process can cause genetic changes and damage that can result in the uncontrollable growth of cells in the pancreas. Immune cells and dying pancreatic cells may also release certain toxins when they burst open, which causes direct genetic damage to the neighboring cells and is further compounded by the inflammatory process that follows. Chronic pancreatitis causes an inflammatory cycle to repeat over and over again in the pancreatic tissues, which eventually leads to the development of pancreatic malignancy in many cases.

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