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About 94% of pancreatic cancers are classified as exocrine tumors. These tumors start in the exocrine cells of the pancreas. The following table describes the most common pancreatic exocrine tumors.
| TYPE | DESCRIPTION |
|---|---|
| Adenocarcinoma | Adenocarcinoma is the most common type of pancreatic cancer. It accounts for about 90% of all pancreatic cancers. It begins in the cells lining the pancreatic duct. |
| Acinar Cell Carcinoma | Acinar cell carcinoma is a very rare form of pancreatic cancer. Some tumors may cause excessive production of pancreatic lipase, the enzyme secreted to digest fats. Pancreatic lipase levels can be measured in the blood. |
| Intraductal Papillary-Mucinous Neoplasm (IPMN) | An IPMN is a cystic tumor that grows from the main pancreatic duct or from side branches of the duct. The tumor may appear as a finger-like (papillary) projection into the duct. An IPMN may be benign at the time of diagnosis. However, it has a risk of progressing to malignancy. This risk is high when the IPMN originates in the main pancreatic duct. An IPMN may therefore be a precursor for adenocarcinoma. |
| Mucinous Cystadenocarcinoma | Mucinous cystadenocarcinoma is a rare, malignant, cystic tumor. The cyst is filled with a thick fluid called mucin. It is similar to an IPMN but occurs in just one area of the pancreas, more commonly in the tail of the pancreas. These tumors are mostly seen in women. |
There are other rare types of exocrine pancreatic tumors not discussed in this table. For information about other types of exocrine pancreatic tumors, contact a PanCAN Patient Services Case Manager.
You can find information about pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors on this page.
Information provided by the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, Inc. (“PanCAN”) is not a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis, treatment or other health care services. PanCAN may provide information to you about physicians, products, services, clinical trials or treatments related to pancreatic cancer, but PanCAN does not recommend nor endorse any particular health care resource. In addition, please note any personal information you provide to PanCAN’s staff during telephone and/or email communications may be stored and used to help PanCAN achieve its mission of assisting patients with, and finding cures and treatments for, pancreatic cancer. Stored constituent information may be used to inform PanCAN programs and activities. Information also may be provided in aggregate or limited formats to third parties to guide future pancreatic cancer research and education efforts. PanCAN will not provide personal directly identifying information (such as your name or contact information) to such third parties without your prior written consent unless required or permitted by law to do so. For more information on how we may use your information, you can find our privacy policy on our website at https://www.pancan.org/privacy/.
