Dr. Rosario Ligresti

CURE spoke with Dr. Rosario Ligestri and Dr. Anna Berkenblit about the rising rate of pancreatic cancer in relatively younger adults.

Pancreatic Cancer on the Rise Among Younger Adults

Following the Oct. 14, 2025 death of R&B singer D’Angelo from pancreatic cancer at the age of 51, CURE spoke with a pair of experts about rising incidence of the disease among younger adults.

Dr. Rosario Ligestri, Chief of Gastroenterology and the Director of the Pancreas Center at Hackensack University Medical Center in New Jersey and Dr. Anna Berkenblit, Chief Scientific and Medical Officer for the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (PanCAN), sat down for interviews with CURE.

 Every now and then a news story comes along that just stops you in your tracks, a story that's not just about one person's tragedy, but feels more like a warning sign for all of us. Today, we're going to dive into one of those stories and the critical health trend it's suddenly thrown into the spotlight. The music world recently lost a true titan, a voice that defined a generation for so many of us, but his passing at just 51 years old isn't only a heartbreaking loss, it's also a wake-up call, and that right there, that's really the jumping off point for what we're talking about. Today, we're going to explore what experts are saying about this really concerning trend, one that D'Angelo's story has unfortunately forced into the public conversation.

 On average, when we when we looked at prior statistics, generally we start to think about pancreatic cancer being a disease of increased incidence in patients greater than the age of 50 to 55 but more recently, we found that there's actually a rising incidence in patients age 15 to 39 which is truly shocking statistic and certainly alters our perception of really what we think of as pancreatic cancer in an older population. This came to light over the last few years, that for whatever reason, there are a group of cancers, particularly GI malignancies, that are on the rise in young people.

And if we stopped and thought about why that might be and why you're seeing this, there are only a handful of risk factors that we can kind of think about, at the very top it's probably things like morbid obesity and cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption, things that are commonly seen in a younger population and at the same time probably have some role to play in some of these cancer incidences. But again, it's a real phenomenon. You know, in the earlier part of this year, in one of our larger journals, in 

, they looked at from 2000 to 2021 and you found 4% increased incidence in that age group, which, again, is just truly shocking that you would have pancreatic cancer under the age of 39 but it's something that we certainly see and defies explanation to some degree.

 It is a tragedy that D'Angelo, his life was cut short by pancreatic cancer, 51 is certainly young. And the average age of people who die of pancreatic cancer is usually in the mid 60s, so 51 is definitely on the young side. And what we do know is, like other cancers, like colorectal cancer in particular, more cancers are being diagnosed in younger people, more pancreatic cancers.

 The most important thing of all of this is early detection. We really think that it's one of those things where we don't think about younger patients, but the increased awareness matters a lot. And when we when we see deaths like this, it raises the interest level of the national audience to whether or not this is something that is something that might be common and might potentially affect them. So the most important thing that we see is early detection.

When is it that you can actually do something about pancreatic cancer? Well, when it's very small and very limited to the pancreas. So surgery plays still the biggest role in how we manage these patients. And again, if you stop and thought about that, it makes a lot of sense that if patients are in kind of an early detection mindset or an early detection program, they'll find things when they're small and otherwise operable. As time has gone on, we've discovered that there have been some advancements in chemotherapy for patients with pancreatic cancer, but by and large, chemotherapy still plays a secondary role to surgery. Unfortunately, one of the newer therapies, like immunotherapy, that has been very successful in other GI malignancies, like colon cancer, doesn't play a very big role in pancreatic cancer. Pancreatic cancer seems to be immune to immunotherapy, as it were, it's a tumor that is very difficult to treat immunologically, largely due to the tumor microenvironment, basically the area of the pancreas around where the tumor lives, suppresses the immune system locally. So it's really not a very good treatment option. So we're really limited still to surgery being the number one most effective treatment, and there have been some surgical refinements since the surgery was first introduced in the 1940s but not nearly enough to resect everybody all the way to chemotherapy, which is certainly used in a supportive role.

Transcript has been edited for clarity and conciseness.

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Being diagnosed with a rare cancer like GIST can be overwhelming, highlighting the need for support networks, says Dr. Rosario Ligresti.

How to Access Support Resources for Rare Cancers 

Being diagnosed with a rare tumor like gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) can be overwhelming, according to Dr. Rosario Ligresti, chief of Gastroenterology and Interventional Endoscopy at Hackensack Meridian Health, who emphasized the importance of support networks and expert guidance when navigating such a diagnosis.

To discuss the topic further, Ligresti sat down for an interview with CURE, in which he highlighted resources for patients with GIST, including support groups, treatment guidance and the critical role of specialized care centers.

discussed what patients with GIST should know upon starting treatment in a previous interview

What guidance can you offer patients newly diagnosed with GIST on accessing support resources, seeking second opinions and staying well-informed about their care?

The good thing is that there are some very good support groups for this. It's not common to find support groups for every rare tumor, but GIST and other rare tumors certainly have support groups available.

One of these support groups is called GIST Together, a grassroots group of very important advocates for patients with this disease. I'm amazed at how much information they can offer patients, as well as general support. Their website is full of information about side effect management, available treatment options and even links to cutting-edge trials for this disease.

There are certainly support resources available. Obviously, this all stems back to having a very good rapport with your oncologist and gastroenterologist so they can guide you through everything. The therapy is generally very prolonged, so you want to have a very good relationship with your treatment team and a good cancer center.

Again, keep in mind that these are very uncommon tumors that are best treated by people who see a lot of them. These are not your average oncology tumors. Having said that, expertise matters, and for these particular tumors, which are so uncommon, you want to go to the people who see a lot of them.

“Breaking Down the Treatment of GIST for Patients,” by Ryan Scott. CURE, August 21, 2025; https://www.curetoday.com/view/expert-oncologist-breaks-down-the-current-treatment-landscape-of-gist

For more news on cancer updates, research and education, 

Dr. Rosario Ligresti explained that while many GISTs are found incidentally, larger tumors may cause anemia, bleeding or swallowing issues.

Can Anemia or Bleeding Be a Sign of Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors?

Anemia and gastrointestinal bleeding are among the most common symptoms for patients with gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST), explained Dr. Rosario Ligresti, chief of Gastroenterology and Interventional Endoscopy at Hackensack Meridian Health.

Ligresti noted that symptoms of GIST often depend on the size and location of the tumor. While many patients have no symptoms and are diagnosed incidentally — often during an endoscopy for another reason — larger tumors may ulcerate and bleed, cause difficulty swallowing, or present as a palpable abdominal mass. Although GISTs can develop in the small bowel, esophagus or colon, Ligresti said they most commonly occur in the stomach.

sat down for an interview with CURE to delve into the topic

What are the most common symptoms or signs patients with GIST might experience before being diagnosed?

The majority of gastrointestinal stromal tumors, or GISTs, vary in symptoms depending on their location and size. The most common location for GISTs is the stomach — probably about 60% to 65% of the cases I see occur there. This is likely because the stomach is a very muscular organ, and these tumors arise from the muscular supporting structure of the gastrointestinal tract. They can also be located in the small bowel, esophagus or colon, but far less commonly. Symptoms are largely determined by the tumor’s location.

If the tumors are small, patients often have no symptoms at all, and the tumors are found incidentally. As they grow larger, they can ulcerate, leading to bleeding. They may cause trouble swallowing if they obstruct the esophagus or stomach. Sometimes, patients may feel a mass when palpating the abdomen. Depending on location, GISTs can cause anemia, bleeding, difficulty swallowing or pressure-related effects. In fact, the vast majority are discovered incidentally, often during an endoscopy for another reason, like reflux. If symptoms do occur, the most common are anemia or bleeding.

The GIST treatment landscape has shifted in recent years due to the emergence of new therapies, many of which patients should be aware of.

How the GIST Treatment Landscape is Evolving For Patients

The gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) treatment landscape has shifted in recent years due to the emergence of new therapies, many of which patients should be aware of.

“The most important thing you can do for these patients when you first see them is to perform mutational profiling. You take a piece of the tumor tissue and look for these specific gene mutations,” Dr. Rosario Ligresti explained.

Ligresti is the chief of Gastroenterology and Interventional Endoscopy at Hackensack Meridian Health, and he 

How has the treatment landscape for GIST changed in recent years? What new therapies or advances should patients with GIST be aware of?

Among all the gastrointestinal tumors out there, I think this is probably emblematic of the way oncology is going. We talk about precision-guided therapy and precision medicine very often in oncology, but the pathological changes that occur in GISTs symbolize that entire field.

GISTs are very unique tumors in that they start and are driven by one of three specific genetic mutations in a patient's genes. When you have one of these mutations, it can cause these tumors to either grow more or less significantly. The way therapy has changed is that when you have these mutations, you can target them with specific medications.

Originally, when GISTs were first described, the only option for patients was surgery, which remains a very important option. You see the tumor, and you remove it. If patients are presenting with obstruction, bleeding, ulceration or trouble swallowing, removing the tumor is still critical.

However, if the tumor has been diagnosed when the patient already has advanced disease or if it has spread outside of the intestinal tract, that's when you start talking about giving patients medical therapy or chemotherapy. The chemotherapy used for these patients is very different from the standard chemotherapy for other intestinal tumors, such as adenocarcinomas, colon cancers, or stomach cancers. These are medications used specifically to block a certain genetic product that these tumors make because of genetic mutations within the tumor.

The most important thing you can do for these patients when you first see them is to perform mutational profiling. You take a piece of the tumor tissue and look for these specific gene mutations. Why does this matter? Because it really helps you pick which medication will be most effective for these tumors. This is what has really changed in this field, and it's emblematic of all of oncology now.

We are being very precise about the mutation that the patient's tumor has, whereas in the past, treatment was very broad-spectrum and generic. This is now targeted specifically to the tumor that the patient has.

“Expert Oncologist Breaks Down the Current Treatment Landscape of GIST,” by Ryan Scott. CURE, August 19, 2025; https://www.curetoday.com/view/expert-oncologist-breaks-down-the-current-treatment-landscape-of-gist

Dr. Rosario Ligresti

Pancreatic Cancer on the Rise Among Younger Adults

How to Access Support Resources for Rare Cancers

Can Anemia or Bleeding Be a Sign of Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors?

How the GIST Treatment Landscape is Evolving For Patients

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