Health Experts Say Pancreatic Cancer Will be Second Deadliest by 2030

May is National Cancer Research month, and the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network in Manhattan Beach, California recently published data that found pancreatic cancer will be the second deadliest cancer behind lung cancer by 2030.

The pancreas has two types of glands: exocrine and endocrine. Cancerous tumors most commonly form in the exocrine gland, which is responsible for releasing pancreatic "juice" into the intestines to help you digest fats, proteins, and carbohydrates. Endocrine pancreatic cancer is less common, but it still occurs.

The researchers arrived at their results by looking at two factors: changes in demographics and changes in the average annual percentage of cancer incidence and deaths. Their research was published in Cancer Research, which is a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. They also predict liver cancers will be the third deadliest.

"The projections for deaths from pancreatic and liver cancers are startling," said Lynn Matrisian, Ph.D., MBA, vice president of scientific and medical affairs at the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, in this American Association for Cancer Research news release. "This study is a call to action to the scientific and clinical communities, as well as the population at large, to increase attention, awareness, and ultimately progress in the fight against pancreatic cancer."

The findings of this research should also alarm many since pancreatic cancer is understudied and underfunded on top of being very difficult to diagnose due to the pancreas being located deep within the abdomen. Additionally, it also has a poor prognosis because it spreads rapidly and is hard to diagnose in the early stages.

Health experts are also concerned of the rate of obesity, a disease that is linked to 12 types of cancers, two of which are pancreatic cancer and liver cancer. If these are projected to be in the top three of deadliest cancers, one can only assume that the obesity rate is increasing. But another issue is the aging population, because the biggest risk factor for cancer is old age. The number of cancer cases is expected to leap from 1.5 million (based on 2010 data) to 2.1 million by 2030.

The bottom line is that pancreatic cancer is in need of further research and more effective treatments. Although some cancers are more common than others, breast cancer and prostate cancer receive an overwhelming amount of attention and funding while other cancers are overlooked to an extent simply because they're not as common.