Chemotherapy and other cancer treatments can impact pancreatic cancer patients’ white blood counts. CBC tests also provide information about your red blood cells, which function to carry oxygen throughout your body. When red blood cell counts drop too low, it causes a condition called anemia.
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Chronic diseases like pancreatic cancer, or inflammation like pancreatitis, can cause anemia. And chemotherapy or radiation therapy can also cause or worsen anemia. If you or a loved one is experiencing new or worsening fatigue or muscle weakness, these could be symptoms of anemia.
Most gene mutations related to cancers of the pancreas occur after a person is born, rather than having been inherited. These acquired gene mutations sometimes result from exposure to cancer-causing chemicals (like those found in tobacco smoke ).
Nausea and vomiting (symptom of pancreatic cancer) There are many reasons why you might feel or be sick at different times throughout your illness. Sometimes the disease itself causes these symptoms due to the space it is taking up inside your body or because it is preventing you being able to digest nutrients in the normal way (malabsorption).
On the flip side, all cancer types are associated with an increased risk of developing iron deficiency anemia, though the risk is higher with certain types of cancer. And the consequences of iron deficiency anemia can be particularly severe in people with cancer, potentially interfering with treatment and lowering the odds of survival.
The unadjusted HR for the risk of PDAC associated with PA was 1.23 (95% CI 0.81–1.85, p=0.33).
Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is the fourth leading cause of cancer related deaths worldwide.(1) Elucidating risk factors for the development of PDAC is important as it could lead to new approaches to early diagnosis and potential therapeutic targets.
Our study included 15,324 exposed subjects, matched with approximately four times as many unexposed patients, with a mean follow up of 4.63 years. The observed incidence of PDAC in the unexposed group in this study was 37.28/100,000 person years. Thus, our study was able to detect a HR of 1.7 with 80% power and alpha of 0.05 in our primary analysis.
Second, to avoid potential selection bias, a subgroup analysis was conducted after eliminating any unexposed patient with use of greater than one year of cumulative PPI therapy. PPI therapy may lead to hypergastrinemia and is not indicated in patients with PA.
We hypothesized that PA, via the induction of hypergastrinemia, might be a risk factor for the development of PDAC. The results of this study could have implications for other common clinical circumstances that are associated with hypergastrinemia such as gastric acid suppressive therapy with proton pump inhibitors (PPIs).
All patients receiving care from a THIN practitioner from 1993 to 2009 were potentially eligible for inclusion in the study. Patients were excluded if their registration status was anything other than ‘acceptable’ (i.e., patients with incomplete documentation or out of sequence date of birth, date of entry into the database, date of death, or date of exit from the database; not male or female; not permanently registered). All patients with the diagnosis of PDAC prior to the diagnosis of PA were excluded from the study.
We observed no significant association between PA and PDAC in this large population-based cohort study. From a mechanistic standpoint, this finding suggests that although hypergastrinemia may affect the growth of pancreatic cancer cells in vitro, it may not be involved in the initiation of PDAC.
For example, many sporadic cases of pancreatic cancer have changes in the p16 and TP53 genes, which can also be seen in some genetic syndromes. But many pancreatic cancers also have changes in genes such as KRAS, BRAF, and DPC4 ( SMAD4 ), which are not part of inherited syndromes.
Most gene mutations related to cancers of the pancreas occur after a person is born, rather than having been inherited. These acquired gene mutations sometimes result from exposure to cancer-causing chemicals (like those found in tobacco smoke ). But often what causes these changes is not known.
Many gene changes are probably just random events that sometimes happen inside a cell, without having an outside cause. Some of the DNA changes often seen in sporadic (non-inherited) cases of pancreatic cancer are the same as those seen in inherited cases, while others are different.
Some people inherit gene changes from their parents that raise their risk of pancreatic cancer. Sometimes these gene changes are part of syndromes that include increased risks of other health problems as well. These syndromes, which cause a small portion of all pancreatic cancers, are discussed in Risk Factors for Pancreatic Cancer.
Pancreatic cancer is a leading cause of cancer death largely because there are no detection tools to diagnose the disease in its early stages when surgical removal of the tumor is still possible.
The majority of patients are diagnosed at a distant stage, for which the 5-year survival is 3%. More than 90% of cases are pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PDAC), that develop in the exocrine tissue of the pancreas, which makes digestive enzymes.
Symptoms for pancreatic cancer may include weight loss, abdominal discomfort, back pain, development of type 2 diabetes and some tumors may cause jaundice leading to earlier diagnosis. Pancreatic cancer has the highest mortality rate of all major cancers. For all stages combined, the 5-year relative survival rate is 10%.
In 2021 an estimated 60,430 Americans will be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in the U.S., and more than 48,220 will die from the disease. Pancreatic cancer has the highest mortality rate of all major cancers. It is currently the 3rd leading cause of cancer-related death in the United States after lung and colon.
Surgical removal of the tumor is possible in less than 20% of patients diagnosed with pancreatic cancer because detection is often in late stages and has spread beyond the pancreas. Adjuvant treatment with chemotherapy (and sometimes radiation) may lower the risk of recurrence.
According to the American Cancer Society, the main causes of anemia in people with cancer are the cancer itself, blood loss, nutritional deficiencies, major organ problems, and sickle cell disease or thalassemia ( inherited disorders in which the body destroys too many red blood cells).
In adults, the most common cause of iron deficiency anemia is blood loss — in either the gastrointestinal (GI) tract or the genitourinary system, according to Lanie K. Francis, MD, a hematologist and medical oncologist at UPMC Hillman Cancer Center in Pittsburgh. People who have cancers of “those regions that present with bleeding,” she says, ...
Katarzyna Bialasiewicz/Getty Images. If you have cancer, you may not be familiar with the role that iron deficiency anemia often plays in the disease. This type of anemia is a condition in which the body can’t produce enough hemoglobin, a substance found in red blood cells that carries oxygen, ...
To directly treat your iron deficiency, your doctor may prescribe either oral iron supplements or intravenous (IV) iron. If you have anemia that’s especially severe or sudden, you may also be given a red blood cell transfusion. Since a transfusion raises your hemoglobin level quickly, it can be an important way to ensure that enough oxygen is reaching your vital organs.
In a study published in July 2013 in the Annals of Oncology, iron deficiency was most commonly seen in people with pancreatic cancer (present in 63 percent of participants), followed by colorectal cancer (52 percent) and lung cancer (51 percent). In forms of cancer with solid tumors, later stages of the cancer were associated with a higher risk ...
Common causes of functional iron deficiency include inflammation — which may be caused by cancer, infection, chronic kidney disease, ...
Common Types of Iron Deficiency in Cancer. Two main forms of iron deficiency are seen in people with cancer: absolute and functional. In absolute iron deficiency, the body lacks an adequate supply of iron. According to a study published in December 2015 in the Central European Journal of Medicine, absolute iron deficiency is usually caused by blood ...
Cancers involving the bone marrow. Blood cancers such as leukemia, multiple myeloma, and lymphoma inhibit or destroy the bone marrow’s production of healthy blood cells. Other cancers that metastasize or spread to the bone marrow can also cause anemia.
Anemia is the most common blood disorder in the United States, and according to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. It affects over 3 million Americans. If you’re anemic, your body does not have enough red blood cells, which are responsible for carrying oxygen to tissues in your body. Mild anemia may not present any symptoms, but moderate anemia causes weakness and headaches, among other symptoms, while severe anemia can be life-threatening.
Doctors may give erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs) to those who develop anemia due to chemotherapy in an attempt to boost red blood cell production and minimize the need for blood transfusions. Erythropoietin is a hormone in the kidneys. It signals your bone marrow to create more red blood cells when needed.
According to the National Anemia Action Council, almost all patients receiving chemotherapy drugs for cancer are mildly anemic. Moreover, as much as 80 percent develop a more serious health issue. The form of chemotherapy you’re receiving, your cancer stage, and your overall health play a significant role in whether you will or will not have anemia.
If you have cancer and find yourself feeling tired, short of breath, and lightheaded, you may also be anemic . Anemia is a common side effect of certain cancer treatments, and in some cases, cancer itself can cause anemia.
Aside from chemotherapy drugs, radiation therapy to certain areas of the body may damage the bone marrow and cause anemia, reported a study published in the National Library of Medicine.
Even if your anemia does not conflict or interfere with cancer treatment, getting it under control will help replenish your energy levels and improve your overall quality of life.
Most pancreatic cancers (approximately 75%) originate in the head of the pancreas and typically metastasize to regional lymph nodes first, then to the liver. PDAC can also directly invade surrounding visceral organs (e.g., duodenum, stomach, colon); metastasize to any surface in the abdominal cavity via peritoneal spread where development of ascites carries an ominous prognosis; or spread to the skin as painful nodular metastases. By the time of diagnosis, 85% to 90% of patients have locally advanced tumors that have involved retroperitoneal structures, spread to regional lymph nodes, or metastasized to the liver or lung [2, 13, 24, 81].
All patients with pancreatic cancer should have germline testing and gene profiling offered as quickly as possible after diagnosis; the implications for first-line therapy and beyond are significant [79, 80]. The 2020–2021 ASCO and NCCN recommendations are for all patients with PDAC to receive germline genomic testing using comprehensive gene panels for hereditary cancer syndromes, and targeted (somatic) profiling of tumor tissue using next-generation sequencing [10, 11]. Patients with locally advanced or metastatic PDAC should have available tumor tissue tested for DNA mismatch repair deficiency (dMMR) and microsatellite instability–high (MSI-H) status. It is also recommended that these patients undergo testing for actionable somatic mutations, including fusions ( ALK , NRG1, NTRK , ROS1 ), mutations ( BRAF, BRCA1/2, HER2, KRAS, PALB2 ), and mismatch repair deficiency (dMMR).
A pathologic diagnosis is indicated to confirm PDAC in locally advanced or metastatic disease, before neoadjuvant therapy, and in atypical presentations in which differential diagnosis is needed with other pancreatic masses (e.g., pancreatitis, lymphoma, tuberculosis). If a biopsy does not confirm malignancy, it should be repeated at least once [16].
Pancreatic cancer cachexia is a multifactorial paraneoplastic syndrome characterized by a loss of skeletal muscle mass, commonly associated with adipose tissue wasting and anorexia, fatigue, and reduced exercise tolerance. Cachexia develops in approximately 80% of patients with PDAC, in whom the syndrome is typically present at diagnosis and responds poorly to therapeutic interventions [47, 86].
Multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) angiography with intravenous (IV) contrast is the preferred imaging for initial evaluation of suspected PDAC. The Pancreatic CT Protocol standardizes its use, making MDCT highly accurate for assessing tumor extent, vascular invasion, and distant metastases [11, 16, 88, 89]. The NCCN recommends that MDCT angiography should also cover the chest and pelvis for complete staging [11].
20 . Patients with a pancreatic tumor 1–2 cm in greatest dimension would be staged
During 2021 in the United States, an estimated 60,430 people will be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, which represents 3.2% of all new cancer cases and the 11th most common new cancer diagnosis. The median age at diagnosis is 70 years [18].
Dietitians can give you advice about your intake and you can ask to be referred by your medical team. You can have oral, liquid, injected or syringe driver medication for nausea and vomiting.
Some treatments and medications may cause nausea and vomiting such as chemotherapy. Sometimes constipation or the body not moving things through the intestine as it should (intestinal dysmotility) is the cause.