C25.3: Malignant neoplasm: Pancreatic duct

You have pancreatic cancer.

The tissue in the body is made up of cells. With cancer, the cells multiply uncontrollably, which leads to a malignant neoplasm (abnormal growth of tissue) developing. The cancer cells can destroy the healthy tissue and spread throughout the body.

The pancreas is tucked behind the stomach in the upper abdomen. The pancreas produces messenger substances. The messenger substances control the sugar level in the blood. The pancreas also produces a fluid that is released into the intestines. This fluid contains substances that are important for the digestion of fats, proteins and sugars. A duct runs from the pancreas to the intestine. This duct releases the fluid from the pancreas to the intestines.

The pancreas is made up of 3 parts: the head, the body and the tail. The head of the pancreas is right next to the first part of the small intestine. The body of the pancreas sits in front of the aorta. Important blood vessels run along the body of the pancreas from the intestines. The tail of the pancreas sits to the left of the abdomen next to the spleen.

The cancer is in the duct of the pancreas.

Please note: This ICD code may also derive from the ICD-O system. If this is the case, there are usually additional letters and numbers in addition to the code. It starts with the letter M, followed by 4 digits and then a slash. There is another digit after the slash.

If it is an ICD-O code, then this does not describe a malignant cancer in all cases. The last digit after the slash gives you more detailed information about this:

• /0 – The tumor is benign. Cells in a tissue multiply uncontrollably. However, they are not destroying the surrounding tissue and are also not spreading throughout the body.
• /1 – It is not known for sure whether the tumor is benign or malignant.
• /2 – It is an early form of cancer, a precancerous stage where the cells are altered and multiply uncontrollably. However, they are not yet spreading beyond a certain margin and cannot spread to other organs either.
• /3 – It is a malignant cancer. The cells in the affected tissue are altered and multiply uncontrollably. They can destroy the surrounding tissue and spread throughout the body.
• /6 – It is a metastasis. Cancer cells have spread from the originally affected site to a different site in the body and have further multiplied there.
• /9 – It is either a malignant cancer or a metastasis. The cells in the affected tissue are altered and multiply uncontrollably. However, it is impossible to say whether these cells derive originally from the affected site or have spread there from a different site in the body.