When abnormal cells in the pancreas grow out of control and invade other tissues and organs, pancreatic cancer develops, which is an aggressive cancer. Moreover, as the malignant pancreatic tumour grows slowly and is deep-seated, it is not easily detectable in its early stages.

In Hong Kong, although pancreatic cancer is less common than other cancers, ranking out of the top 10 in terms of incidence in 2020, there were still over 800 deaths due to pancreatic cancer in 2020 — rendering it the fourth leading cause of cancer deaths — accounting for 5.5% of all cancer deaths locally. While most cancers have demonstrated a significant decreasing trend regarding mortality in the last decade, the number of deaths from pancreatic cancer increased markedly by 71.9% between 2010 and 2020.

Risk Factors of Pancreatic Cancer

Although the causes of pancreatic cancer are still not fully understood, certain risk factors have been identified, including smoking, being overweight, obesity, consumption of red or processed meat, heavy alcohol consumption, elderly males, family history of pancreatic cancer and carrying certain inherited genes, as well as a history of certain diseases including diabetes mellitus, chronic or hereditary pancreatitis.

Common Symptoms of Pancreatic Cancer

Pancreatic cancer may have no symptoms and even if symptomatic, the symptoms might be nonspecific and hard to notice until the cancer has spread to other organs.

Pancreatic Cancer Prevention

The purpose of cancer screening is to detect cancer before symptoms develop, so that early treatment can be initiated. Currently, based on available international and local scientific evidence, screening for pancreatic cancer in asymptomatic persons at average risk of developing the cancer is not recommended by the Government’s Cancer Expert Working Group on Cancer Prevention and Screening due to the lack of support from scientific evidence and the fact that screening process itself carries some risk. The general population is thus recommended to adopt the following healthy lifestyle and behavioural changes to help prevent pancreatic cancer:

• Do not smoke, or quit smoking if one has already been smoking;
  
• Avoid alcohol consumption; and
  
• Maintain a healthy body weight and waist circumference by being physically active and adopting a healthy eating pattern (including plenty of fruit, vegetables and whole grains; while limiting or avoiding red and processed meats, sugary beverages and highly processed foods).