The type of pancreatic cancer that BYU men's basketball coach Dave Rose was diagnosed with is rare, typically with a longer life expectancy, but the prognosis and treatment options will depend on the disease's stage.

This much is certain: Though pancreatic cancer is very bad, Rose has the best kind possible. Pancreatic neuroendocrine cancer generally progresses much slower than pancreatic adenocarcinoma, which accounts for about 85 percent of all pancreatic cancer cases.

Treatment options for pancreatic neuroendocrine cancer varies, depending on the size and location of the tumor, whether the tumor has spread and the patient's overall health. Surgery is an option. Chemotherapy could be used to combat the tumors should the cancer become widespread.

According to www.cancer.net, which is monitored by the American Society of Clinical Oncology, the one-year survival rate for pancreatic cancer patients is 24 percent, and the five-year survival rate is about 5 percent. Cancer.net also reports that an estimated 42,470 adults will be diagnosed in the United States this year and 35,240 deaths (18,030 men and 17,210 women) would occur.

But the odds for survival are higher for patients with pancreatic neuroendocrine cancer.

"If I had 100 people walk into my office with neuroendocrine tumors, five years later I would say that 85 percent would still be alive," said Dr. Mark Ott, chief of

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surgery at Intermountain Medical Center and a pancreatic cancer specialist. "Now they wouldn't all be cured. Some would still have cancers in them and problems, but 85 of them would be alive five years later."

The problem with diagnosing pancreatic cancer is that symptoms often don't develop in its earliest stage, making it difficult for doctors to detect the disease before it has spread beyond the pancreas. Rose's cancer wasn't detected until after he underwent tests last weekend following emergency surgery to remove his spleen and a portion of his pancreas in an effort to stop internal bleeding.

Rose's cancer might still be curable, but the situation with the spleen presents the possibility that the tumor might have already grown considerably.

"It may be curable, too, if they caught it early enough," Ott said. "I would sort of guess that if the spleen ruptured, [the tumor] is probably more than the size of a penny."

Even with removal of the cancerous tumor, Rose is far from being in the clear, another doctor said.

"[The tumor] can be removed if it is not far advanced, but often times, even after the surgery, there is concern about cancer cells that are left and may benefit from additional treatment," said Dr. Richard N. Frame, a physician at Utah Cancer Specialists.

The tumors themselves aren't the only thing that's dangerous about Rose's form of pancreatic cancer. Ott said that neuroendocrine tumors secrete hormones that can reek havoc on the body, causing everything from rashes to hypoglycemia.

"My guess is it's not secreting those hormones, or he'd have been inspected by a physician earlier," Ott said.

At the end of the day, Rose's chances for survival will depend mostly on the stage his cancer and his health.

"Each patient is different," Frame said. "There are long-term survivors with neuroendocrine cancer of the pancreas, so it is not a death sentence."

rturner@sltrib.com