What are the factors affecting pancreatic cancer?

Heredity, smoking: Pancreatic cancer tends to run in families and tobacco increases the risk of pancreatic and other cancers. Pancreatic cancer is often not detected early and due to lack of specific signs and symptoms. There is no screening test for pancreatic cancer. It tends to spread to other organs early and has a high mortality.

Multiple: Has it spread outside the pancreas? Does the cancer involve the lymph nodes? What type-- adenocarcinoma or neuroendocrine cancer? Has a surgical oncologist evaluated whether the patient is a surgical candidate? Other than the pancreatic cancer, how healthy is the patient? These are just a few of the factors that affect the treatment and prognosis of pancreatic cancer.