Types of Pancreatic Tumors: Exocrine Tumor and NeuroEndocrine Islet Cell Tumor

Your pancreas is situated behind your stomach. It’s a multitasking gland in the sense that it’s made up of exocrine cells, which produce digestive enzymes, as well as endocrine cells, which produce hormones.

Pancreatic exocrine tissue makes and secretes enzymes that help you digest fats, proteins and carbohydrates. The enzymes are released through tiny pancreatic ducts that merge into larger ducts for transport into your small intestine. This duct tissue accounts for most of the cells in your pancreas.

Only a small percentage of the cells in the pancreas are endocrine cells, which are arranged in small clusters called islets. Islet cells release a variety of hormones directly into your bloodstream.

Because your pancreas is composed of exocrine and endocrine tissue, it can form totally different types of pancreatic tumors.

Endocrine are the type of pancreatic tumors that are most often cancerous. So, pancreatic cancer usually equates to exocrine pancreatic cancer. However, endocrine tissue can also form benign cysts and tumors as well.

Most cancerous tumors of exocrine pancreas tissue are of the adenocarcinoma type. This cancer usually develops in your pancreatic duct, but they can also originate in pancreatic enzymes making cells too.

Other less common exocrine duct pancreatic cancer tumor types are:

Pancreatic endocrine tumors are those that develop in hormone producing pancreatic cells. They’re also referred to as pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors or islet cell tumors. These types of pancreatic tumors are uncommon.

Neuroendocrine tumors are divided in subtypes according to which hormone making cells they arise from, such as:

Islet cell tumors are further classified as functioning or non-functioning type. Functioning means the neuroendocrine tumors uncontrollably secrete hormones themselves, thus causing various health consequences. Those tumors that don’t secrete hormones (nonfunctioning) may cause blockage and bleeding type health issues.

Islet cell tumors are very rarely cancerous. Gastrinomas and insulinomas are the tumor types that generally cause pancreatic neuroendocrine carcinomas.

Symptoms and treatment of pancreatic tumors will depend on the type of tumor (exocrine or endocrine) and whether your tumor is cancerous.

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