Pancreatic cancer is caused due to the harmful growth of abnormal cells. Healthy cells regularly die, only to be replaced by new cells. Cancer cells don’t follow these rules; they have an irregularity causing them to grow and multiply abnormally. They don’t die like healthy cells and keep increasing, thus leading to Pancreatic Cancer.Not even the best Pancreatic Cancer hospital will be able to explain why some cells are damaged, and some aren’t. Doctors haven’t been able to understand what causes the mutation of these cells, or why their genetic roadmap isn’t regular.

Causes of Pancreatic Cancer include the following two types of mutations:

Inherited Gene Mutations:

You can inherit mutations in your genes from your parents. Parents who have Pancreatic Cancer are likely to pass it on their children. Six such genes can cause mutations to be passed down from parent to offspring. These genes are- BRCA1, BRCA2, CDKN2A, ATM, TP53, and MLH1. Mutation of any of these genes can cause the person to be at a higher risk of Pancreatic Cancer, but it’s not a necessity. Passing down genes that cause other types of cancer(colorectal cancer) may also cause inherited mutations.

Acquired Gene Mutations:

While some gene mutations are inherited, most happen after the child is born. These mutations may occur due to external causes like frequent exposure to Tobacco smoke, or there may be no external cause whatsoever. It is a tedious task to determine what caused these gene mutations if no external factor had any role to play. There is an interesting fact that must be brought to notice- some of the acquired gene mutations are similar to those that are inherited(ex- TP53), while others are starkly different. Acquired gene mutation is the more common cause of Pancreatic Cancer.