Why are there so many people with pancreatic cancer and lung cancer metastasis? What are the worst lifestyle habits that cause cancer?

According to data from Statistics Korea, the ranking of cancer mortality rates (2022) is lung cancer, liver cancer, colon cancer, pancreatic cancer, and stomach cancer. Most cancers with a high risk of death have one thing in common: they are late in detection and difficult to treat. Because there are almost no symptoms such as pain, it is often diagnosed only after metastasis, and even surgery, which is the basic treatment, is not possible, so the mortality rate is high. Let’s take a closer look at cancer occurrence and metastasis out of awareness.

When cancer spreads to distant sites?

Prevention is most important when it comes to cancer, but if it does occur, it must be detected early. If the cancer cells do not spread elsewhere and do not leave the organ where the cancer occurred, surgery is relatively easy. The outcome after treatment is good. However, if the cancer invades surrounding organs, adjacent tissues, or lymph nodes (local progression), or metastasizes to other distant sites (distant metastasis), even surgery, which is the basic treatment, may not be possible and the risk of death may increase. It is difficult to detect cancer early based on symptoms. It is a good idea to constantly check for any abnormalities in your body through regular checkups.

Pancreatic cancer that has spread to distant sites…survival rate 2.6%

Let’s look at cancers with a high rate of ‘distant metastasis’, which spread to other parts far away from the organ where the cancer originated. The most distant metastasis was pancreatic cancer, accounting for 43.8% of patients. Second place is lung cancer at 41.4%, third place is gallbladder-biliary tract cancer at 21.9%. Distant metastatic cancer has a greatly reduced survival rate. The survival rate for pancreatic cancer was only 2.6%, liver cancer was 3.5%, gallbladder-biliary cancer was 4.1%, and lung cancer was 12.9%. In most cases, these are cancers in which symptoms such as pain appear late.

The smoking rate among men is high.… Why there is no significant difference in the number of male and female patients with pancreatic cancer?

Pancreatic cancer is one of the top 10 cancers in Korea, with a total of 9,780 cases (occurring in 2022) among men and women. The number of male and female patients is almost half. The biggest risk factor is smoking. Although the smoking rate among men is relatively high, there is little difference in the number of patients between men and women. Experts are paying attention to the link between secondhand smoke and diabetes.

Patients with pancreatic cancer are older than those with other cancers, with half of them in their 50s and 60s. People in their 70s accounted for 29.6%, and people in their 80s or older accounted for 22.1%. Secondhand smoke appears to have had an impact on the development of pancreatic cancer. It is estimated that many women in their 70s and 80s were victims of second-hand smoke in the past when they smoked freely even in the living room. In addition, as high-calorie and high-fat diets become more widespread than before, they are emerging as a new risk factor.

pancreatic cancer, lung cancer prevention–Early detection method…Can’t we eradicate street smoking?

Of the more than 30,000 new lung cancer patients each year, more than 10,000 were women. About 90% of them are non-smokers. Women who don’t smoke tend to let down their guard. People who have been heavily exposed to secondhand smoke, cooking smoke, air pollution, radon, and asbestos in the past should be aware of lung cancer. In lung cancer, coughing symptoms can easily be mistaken for a cold. It is not easy to detect cancer with X-rays, so it is best to consider low-dose CT.

Prevention of lung cancer and pancreatic cancer – For early detection, it is best to avoid secondhand smoke and consider a pancreas checkup (gastroenterology) if diabetic patients suddenly have poor blood sugar control. Heredity is also a risk factor. If you have a family history, you should pay attention to checkups and carefully control your lifestyle habits, such as diet and exercise. If you feel pain in your abdomen or back, your pancreatic cancer may be quite advanced. These days, there are still people smoking on the streets. To reduce the damage caused by secondhand smoke, you should refrain from doing so.