Pancreatic cancer centre

Types of pancreatic cancer

Pancreatic cancer can develop in different parts of the pancreas: in the head of the pancreas, the body or the tail. There are also different types of pancreatic cancer: exocrine pancreatic cancer, endocrine pancreatic tumours and lymphoma of the pancreas.

The symptoms experienced by a person with pancreatic cancer will be different depending on the site and type of cancer. The choice of treatment and surgery types also vary depending on type, location and how advanced the cancer is, called staging.

Most pancreatic cancers are diagnosed in the head of the pancreas.

Exocrine pancreatic cancers

Exocrine cancers are the most common type of pancreatic cancer. These cancers develop in the cells in the area of the pancreas that produces digestive pancreatic juices called the exocrine pancreas.

Within this group of cancers, the most common are adenocarcinomas and usually ductal adenocarcinomas developing in cells lining the ducts of the pancreas.

There are rare types of exocrine pancreatic cancer, including cystic tumours, cancer of the acinar cells and sarcomas of the pancreas.

Endocrine pancreatic tumours

Endocrine tumours develop in the part of the pancreas responsible for producing hormones, including insulin, called the endocrine pancreas.

They may also be referred to by doctors are neuroendocrine tumours or islet cell tumours.

Some of these tumours are not cancerous, but do produce hormones themselves causing different symptoms. These include gastrinomas, insulinomas, somatostatinomas, VIPomas and glucagonomas.

Lymphoma of the pancreas

Lymphoma of the pancreas is rare and caused by cancer affecting the body's lymphatic system. This can cause cancers in different parts of the body, including the pancreas.