Bay Biosciences provides high quality, clinical grade fresh frozen human serum (sera), plasma and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) biofluid samples from patients diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer. The fresh frozen pancreatic cancer plasma serum (sera) and PBMC samples were processed from patients whole blood collected in STRECK Cell-Free DNA collection tubes.
The serum (sera), plasma and PBMC’s are derived from STRECK Cell-Free DNA whole blood using customized sample processing protocols provided by the researcher from 100 unique treatment-naive Pancreatic cancer patients diagnosed with Stage I, II, III & IV pancreatic cancer.
Detailed clinical data and pathology annotations associated with the pancreatic cancer specimens is provided to a valued customer for genomic, proteomic and biomarker research.
Pancreatic Cancer Overview
Pancreatic cancer is a disease in which healthy cells in the pancreas stop working correctly and grow out of control. These cancerous cells can build up and form a mass called a tumor. A cancerous tumor is malignant, which means it can grow and spread (metastasize) to other parts of the body. As it grows, a pancreatic tumor can affect the function of the pancreas, grow into nearby blood vessels and organs, and eventually spread to other parts of the body through a process called metastasis.
The pancreas is a pear-shaped gland located in the abdomen between the stomach and the spine. It is made up of two major components:
- The exocrine component is made up of ducts and small sacs called acini (acinar cells)
on the end of the ducts. This part of the pancreas makes specialized proteins called enzymes that are released into the small intestine to help the body digest and break down food, particularly fats. - The endocrine component is made up of cells lumped together in different locations within this part of the pancreas, called islets of Langerhans. These cells make specific hormones, the most important of which is insulin, which is the substance that helps control the amount of sugar in the blood. This portion of the pancreas also makes other hormones, such as glucagon, somatostatin, pancreatic polypeptide (PP), and vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP). Each of these hormones plays an important role in regulating the body’s metabolism.
Types of Pancreatic Cancer
There are several types of pancreatic cancer, depending on whether the cancer began in the exocrine or endocrine component. Rarely, other types of cancer can begin in the pancreas, such as lymphoma and sarcoma.
Exocrine tumors: These are the most common type of pancreatic cancer. The most common type of exocrine tumor is adenocarcinoma. These tumors usually start in the ducts of the pancreas, called ductal adenocarcinoma. Much less commonly, if the tumor begins in the acini, it is called acinar adenocarcinoma.
An increasingly common diagnosis is called intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm (IPMN). An IPMN is a tumor that grows within the ducts of the pancreas and makes a thick fluid called mucin. IPMN is not cancerous when it begins but could become cancerous if not treated. Sometimes, an IPMN has already worsened and become a cancer by the time it is diagnosed.
Much rarer types of exocrine pancreatic tumors include: acinar cell carcinoma, adenosquamous carcinoma, colloid carcinoma, giant cell tumor, hepatoid carcinoma, mucinous cystic neoplasms, pancreatoblastoma, serous cystadenoma, signet ring cell carcinoma, solid and pseudopapillary tumors, squamous cell carcinoma, and undifferentiated carcinoma.
Endocrine tumors: These are also called pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (PNETs) or islet cell tumors. They are much less common than exocrine tumors, making up about 7% of all pancreatic cancers. A pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor can be functioning or nonfunctioning. A functioning tumor makes hormones. A nonfunctioning tumor does not make hormones. A functioning neuroendocrine tumor is named based on the hormone the cells normally make. These include:
- Insulinoma
- Glucagonoma
- Gastrinoma
- Somatostatinoma
- VIPomas
- PPomas
Pancreatic Cancer Signs and Symptoms
Pancreatic cancer is a “silent disease” because there are not many noticeable symptoms early on. Also, there are currently no specific tests that can reliably detect the pancreatic cancer for patients who do not have symptoms. When patients do develop symptoms, they are often similar to the symptoms of other medical conditions, such as an ulcer or pancreatitis.
Patients with pancreatic cancer may experience the following symptoms or signs as the cancer grows, symptoms may include:
- Yellow skin and eyes, darkening of the urine, itching, and dark-colored stool, which are signs of jaundice caused by a blockage of the bile ducts
- Pain in upper abdomen or upper back
- Painful swelling of an arm or leg due to a blood clot
- Burning feeling in stomach or other gastrointestinal discomfort
- Stomach bloating
- Floating stools with a particularly bad odor and an unusual color due to the body not digesting fats well
- Weakness
- Loss of appetite
- Nausea and vomiting
- Chills and sweats
- Fever
- Unexplained weight loss
Pancreatic Cancer Causes
Exact causes of how pancreatic cancer develops are unknown. Researchers have identified some factors that may increase the risk of developing pancreatic cancer, including smoking and having certain inherited gene mutations.
Pancreatic Cancer Risk Factors
Following are the known factors that may increase the risk of developing pancreatic cancer:
- Smoking
- Diabetes
- Chronic inflammation of the pancreas (pancreatitis)
- Family history of genetic syndromes that can increase cancer risk, including a BRCA2 gene mutation, Lynch syndrome and familial atypical mole-malignant melanoma (FAMMM) syndrome
- Family history of pancreatic cancer
- Obesity
- Older age, as most pancreatic cancer patients are diagnosed after age 65
Studies have demonstrated that the combination of smoking, long-standing diabetes and a poor diet increases the risk of pancreatic cancer beyond the risk of any one of these factors alone.
Pancreatic Cancer Complications
As pancreatic cancer progresses, it can cause complications for patients, such as:
- Weight loss: A number of factors may cause weight loss in patients with pancreatic cancer. Weight loss might happen as the cancer consumes the body’s energy. Nausea and vomiting caused by cancer treatments or a tumor pressing on your stomach may make it difficult to eat. Or your body may have difficulty processing nutrients from food because the pancreas isn’t making enough digestive juices.
- Jaundice: Pancreatic cancer that blocks the liver’s bile duct can cause jaundice. Signs include yellow skin and eyes, dark-colored urine, and pale-colored stools. Jaundice usually occurs without abdominal pain. It may be recommend that a plastic or metal tube (stent) be placed inside the patients bile duct to hold it open. This is done with the help of a procedure called endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP). During ERCP an endoscope is passed down the throat, through the stomach and into the upper part of your small intestine. A dye is then injected into the pancreatic and bile ducts through a small hollow tube (catheter) that’s passed through the endoscope. Finally, images are taken of the ducts.
- Pain: A growing tumor may press on nerves in the abdomen, causing pain that can become severe. Pain medications can help the patient feel more comfortable. Treatments, such as radiation and chemotherapy, might help slow tumor growth and provide some pain relief. In severe cases, your doctor might recommend a procedure to inject alcohol into the nerves that control pain in the abdomen (celiac plexus block). This procedure stops the nerves from sending pain signals to the brain.
- Bowel obstruction: Pancreatic cancer that grows into or presses on the first part of the small intestine (duodenum) can block the flow of digested food from the stomach into the intestines. Your doctor may recommend that a tube (stent) be placed in your small intestine to hold it open. In some situations, it might help to have surgery to place a temporary feeding tube or to attach your stomach to a lower point in your intestines that isn’t blocked by cancer.
Bay Biosciences is a global leader in providing researchers with high quality, clinical grade, fully characterized human tissue samples, bio-specimens and human bio-fluid collections from cancer (tumor) tissue, cancer serum, cancer plasma cancer PBMC and human tissue samples from most other therapeutic areas and diseases.
Bay Biosciences maintains and manages it’s own bio-repository, human tissue bank (biobank) consisting of thousands of diseased samples (specimens) and from normal healthy donors available in all formats and types. Our biobank procures and stores fully consented, deidentified and institutional review boards (IRB) approved human tissue samples and matched controls.
All our human human tissue collections, human specimens and human bio-fluids are provided with detailed samples associated patient’s clinical data. This critical patient’s clinical data includes information relating to their past and current disease, treatment history, lifestyle choices, biomarkers and genetic information. Patient’s data is extremely valuable for researchers and is used to help identify new effective treatments (drug discovery & development) in oncology, other therapeutic areas and diseases. This clinical information is critical to demonstrate their impact, monitor the safety of medicines, testing & diagnostics, and generate new knowledge about the causes of disease and illness.
Bay Biosciences banks wide variety of human tissue samples and biological samples including cryogenically preserved -80°C, fresh, fresh frozen tissue samples, tumor tissue samples, FFPE’s, tissue slides, with matching human bio-fluids, whole blood and blood derived products such as serum, plasma and PBMC’s.
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Bay Biosciences provides human tissue samples (human specimens) from diseased and normal healthy donors; including peripheral whole-blood, amniotic fluid, bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BAL), sputum, pleural effusion, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), serum (sera), plasma, peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC’s), saliva, Buffy coat, urine, stool samples, aqueous humor, vitreous humor, kidney stones, renal calculi, nephrolithiasis, urolithiasis and other bodily fluids from most diseases including cancer. We can also procure most human bio-specimens and can do special collections and requests of human samples that are difficult to find. All our human tissue samples are procured through IRB approved clinical protocols and procedures.
In addition to the standard processing protocols Bay Biosciences can also provide human plasma, serum, PBMC bio-fluid samples using custom processing protocols, you can buy donor specific sample collections in higher volumes and specified sample aliquoting from us. Bay Biosciences also provides human samples from normal healthy donors, volunteers, for controls and clinical research, contact us Now.
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