Clinical Trials Survey

One of Pancreatic Cancer UK’s aims is to increase the amount of research into pancreatic cancer. We try to do this by funding research directly ourselves, lobbying Government and others to increase their funding and by pressing for policy changes to make research into the disease easier and more effective.

Effective research requires a good number of clinical trials to take place, so as to demonstrate whether a new treatment is truly effective for patients. We know that there are only a small number of clinical trials into pancreatic cancer open in the UK, and it can take a long time to recruit patients into those trials.

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Pancreatic Cancer - Causes and Treatment

The pancreas is a gland that is located in the upper abdomen behind the stomach just in front of the spine. It is divided into three main parts, consisting of a head, body and tail, which weighs between 60-140 grams, and measures about 15 cm x 4 cm. Like many of the bodies other organs it is also prone to being infected by cancer; however, unlike certain other cancers it is extremely difficult to detect.

Causes of Pancreatic Cancer

Although it is impossible to tell exactly what causes pancreatic cancer, there are some important principles that cancer biology shows, together with wide based population-studies that do help doctors understand as to why it may develop. Pancreatic cancer is caused by damage to the DNA mutations, which may be hereditary, acquired as one matures, or caused by an individuals lifestyle.

Each person has duplicate genes, "that is to say two copies." One copy is inherited from the mother, and the other copy from the father. In the case of an inherited disease, this is usually from either the mother or the father, where one mutant copy associated with cancer is inherited, together with one normal copy. 

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