Gastrointestinal (GI) Oncology Program

Pancreatic Cancer

What is Pancreatic Cancer?

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Cancer of the pancreas is a disease in which cancer cells are found in the tissues of the pancreas. The pancreas is about six inches long and is shaped something like a thin pear, wider at one end and narrowing at the other. It lies behind the stomach, inside a loop formed by part of the small intestine. The broader end of the pancreas is called the head, the middle section is called the body, and the narrow end is the tail.

The pancreas has two basic jobs in the body. It produces juices that help break down (digest) food, and it produces hormones (such as insulin) that regulate how the body stores and uses food. The area of the pancreas that produces digestive juices is called the exocrine pancreas.

About 95 percent of pancreatic cancers begin in the exocrine pancreas. The hormone-producing area of the pancreas is called the endocrine pancreas. Cancers that begin in the endocrine cells (or islet cells) of the pancreas are rare and comprise only about 5 percent of pancreatic cancers.

This page was last updated on: May 14, 2009.

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