Why is pancreatic cancer difficult to detect early?

  With the increase of life expectancy of our people and the improvement of science and technology, most of the diseases have made great progress in early diagnosis and early treatment, but pancreatic cancer has not made significant progress, personally I think there are the following points: 1.  2. The anatomical location of the pancreas determines its insidious clinical symptoms, which mainly manifest as non-specific symptoms, such as hidden pain and discomfort in the upper abdomen, indigestion and pain in the lower back, etc. The symptoms can be relieved after symptomatic treatment, thus delaying the best time for diagnosis and treatment.  3. Pancreatic cancer itself progresses rapidly, and the natural course of the disease is 3-6 months after diagnosis. Due to its rapid development, the time window in which surgical interventions can be applied is relatively narrow.  4. So far, the sensitivity and specificity of tumor indicators for early diagnosis of pancreatic cancer are not high, which is also one of the reasons why pancreatic cancer is difficult to be detected early.  In summary, 80% of pancreatic cancer is already advanced when first diagnosed, and the best time for diagnosis and treatment is lost. This situation has long been the concern of health institutions in various countries, and a large amount of research funds have been invested in related fields.