The pancreas is one of the organs responsible for digesting
food. It also secretes insulin which removes sugar from the blood and stores it
in the tissues. There were 42,470 new cases of pancreatic cancer in 2009. It is
responsible for 6% of all cancer deaths in the US. The cause of the disease is not
known. It is thought to be associated with smoking and alcohol and may run in families.
Unfortunately, the disease is very difficult to detect early, before symptoms appear.
The most common symptom is jaundice (the skin turns a yellow color). The primary
treatment is the surgical removal of the cancer. Although there are actually many
types of pancreatic cancer recognized microscopically, only a few can be successfully
treated.
Pancreatic Cancer Predictions
Predictions are based on your prognostic factors. These are characteristics that
are used to calculate your predictions. The factors are: age, tumor size, lymph nodes
positive, and histologic grade.. Your prediction will include a prediction
graph and table of the likelihood of survival for the next two years.
Prediction Method
An advanced statistical method called artificial neural network regression
(ANN) will be used to make your predictions. Your factors will be entered into the
artificial neural network model. The model will use this information to predict
your chance of being alive over the next two years.