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​Pre-cancerous Lesions of the Pancreas (Overview)

Picture
Christine A. Iacobuzio-Donahue, Victor E. Velculescu, Christopher L. Wolfgang and Ralph H. Hruban. Genetic Basis of Pancreas Cancer Development and Progression: Insights from Whole-Exome and Whole-Genome Sequencing. Clin Cancer. 2012. 
There are three different types of common pre-cancerous lesions known for pancreatic cancer. The first are "Pancreatic Intraepithelial Neoplasia" or PanINs. These are the small, non-fluid filled kind. There are different grades of PanINs, of increasing severity (PanIN 1 - PanIN 3). The lower grade PanIN 1 lesions are quite common in the population and most older people have at least a few. They are unlikely to ever cause any trouble. Conversely, PanIN 3 lesions are very rare, but also much more dangerous. 

The other two types of pre-cancerous lesions are both larger fluid-filled types: Intraductal Papillary Mucinous Neoplasms, (IPMNs) are the more common of the two, and "Mucinous Cycstic Neoplasms". IPMNs vary in their location within the pancreas and their size, and these two features correlate with how dangerous they are. Luckily, IPMNs can be detected by imaging procedures, therefore making it possible to detect them before they become cancer. They are most often detected in patients who are routinely monitored due to a high familial risk, or incidentally in people who were imaged for another reason. If an IPMN is found in someone, a surgeon will have to make a determination as to whether it is a good idea to remove the lesion before it becomes actual cancer. This is a difficult decision to make because it involves balancing the risk of a patient developing cancer with the real risk of causing harm to the patient by removing a lesion that might never develop into cancer. This tough call is best made at a center that specializes in pancreatic cancer and sees a large number of pancreatic cancer patients. 

"Mucinous Cystic Neoplasms" or MCNs are similar to IPMNs but, the principle difference between IPMNs and MCNs is how they look under a microscope, and how they behave in the patient (i.e. how likely they are to become cancer). ​
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  • Home
  • Science
    • Olive Lab Research
    • Pancreatic Cancer
    • Mouse Hospital
    • The KPC Model
    • Imaging
  • Lab Members
    • Alumni
  • Publications
  • More
    • A non-technical overview >
      • The Pancreas (Overview)
      • Pre-cancerous lesions (Overview)
      • Pancreatic Cancer (Overview)
      • Pancreatic Cancer Statistics
      • Symptoms and Diagnosis
      • Surgery for Pancreatic Cancer (Overview)
      • Drug Treatment (Overview)
      • Mouse Models (Overview)
      • Clinical Trials
    • Donate
    • Facilities >
      • ICRC Building
      • Shared Resources
      • Main Lab
      • Vevo 3100 Ultrasound
    • Join Us!
    • Oncology Precision Therapeutics Core >
      • MRI
      • Ivis Optical Imager
      • Vevo 3100 Ultrasound
      • Perkin-Elmer FX micro CT
    • Photos >
      • 10/30/19 Fall Fun
      • 6/29/18 Jaime's Last Day
      • 9/26/15 Mike's Wedding
      • 11/8/14 Carmine's Wedding
      • 7/7/14 Barbara's Temporary Goodbye Lunch
      • 4/26/13 Korean and Karaoke
      • 4/12/13 Purple Stride
      • 11/26/12 Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Week!!
      • 10/26/12 Pumpkin Carving
      • 9/5-7/2012 Olive and Kimmelman Lab Retreat
      • 7/13/12 Mid-summer BBQ
      • 3/29/12 Jennifer's Goodbye - BoardGame Night
      • 3/8/2012 Barbara's engagement celebration
      • 3/2/2012 Bowling
      • 12/18/2011 Holiday Party
      • 12/9/2011 Poker
      • 11/11/2011 Karaoke
      • 7/15/2011 Holiday Party
    • Support