Jean-Yves Le Four, the businessman who invested in the world of media and relaunched the legendary Louis with writer Frédéric Beigbeder, died aged 59 on March 31.
The ex-husband of director and actress Maiwenn died of pancreatic cancer. Today this cancer remains one of the most terrible.
Growth of 2% per year
In France, almost 16,000 new cases were reported in 2023, with the incidence increasing by approximately 2% annually. Nine out of ten diagnosed cases of pancreatic cancer are “ductal adenocarcinoma.”
This means that they develop from cells that produce pancreatic juice. These cells secrete important digestive enzymes. The remaining 10% are rare pancreatic tumors.
Between 1990 and 2018, the incidence rate of pancreatic cancer increased by an average of 2.7% per year among men and, more consistently, by 3.8% per year among women.
Reasons: still at the hypothesis stage
The reasons for the increase in the incidence of pancreatic cancer are not fully understood. This may be due to better detection due to advances in imaging techniques, better case reporting, and likely an increase in well-demonstrated risk factors such as obesity, diabetes, and smoking.
If chronic pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas) and genetic factors contribute, these factors alone cannot explain the increase in incidence.
This is why researchers are exploring other pathways, particularly the radical lifestyle changes of the 1980s, such as food industrialization (supplements, excess fats and carbohydrates, etc.).
Specific molecules such as nanoparticles (titanium dioxide), as well as the increased use of pesticides and heavy metals (cadmium) in food and water, may also play a role.
The pesticide trail is becoming clearer
According to two French studies presented at the congress of the French National Society of Hepato-Gastroenterology (JFHOD) in March 2024, exposure to pesticides may be associated with an increased risk of pancreatic adenocarcinoma.
Although small in magnitude, this relationship is robust, especially for three specific substances: mancozeb, glyphosate, and sulfur spray.
For every 2.5 kg increase in pesticide use per hectare over 11 years, the risk of developing pancreatic adenocarcinoma increases by 0.9 to 1.4 percent.
Pesticide use is widespread in France, where about 300 substances are permitted and where about 65,000 tons are used annually, placing France as the number one consumer country in Europe.
In addition, the second study looked at four other substances associated with an increased risk of pancreatic cancer. Although their use has been banned since the 1990s, they are still present in soil and air!
Objective: Intervention at the localized stage
The rising incidence of pancreatic cancer is particularly alarming given the lack of truly effective treatment at the metastatic stage (50% of cases at diagnosis) or locally advanced stage (30% of cases). Surgery and chemotherapy (sometimes combined with radiation therapy) are the main treatments for pancreatic cancer.
This intervention involves removing the part of the pancreas where the tumor has developed (head, tail of the pancreas, etc.), as well as possibly neighboring organs or parts of the affected organs.
However, this is only useful if the tumor is located only in the pancreas. Unfortunately, at the time of diagnosis, only a small proportion of pancreatic cancer cases are resectable (10% to 20%), and this situation is mainly due to the hidden and insidious progression of the disease.
Indeed, as a rule, pancreatic cancer develops without causing symptoms. Also, when the first manifestations appear (loss of appetite and progressive weight loss, jaundice, etc.), the tumor is often already very developed.
For all stages combined, the 5-year survival rate is about 7%.
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