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Apple CEO Steve Jobs has announced that he is taking a medical leave of absence to deal with pancreatic cancer, for the second time in two years.

Jobs who was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2004, had a liver transplant in 2009. He will remain CEO while Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook will oversee day-to-day business. Apple not give any further details about Jobs’ health or say how long he might be absent from the company.

Medical experts believe that Jobs has lived as long as he has mainly because he has a neuroendocrine islet cell tumor, a slower growing and rarer form of pancreatic cancer.

Islet cell tumors of the pancreas are rare tumors and around 2500 cases of pancreatic islet cell tumors are seen in the U.S. Annually. These tumors are often also called pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors.

Pancreatic cancer is diagnosed in approximately 37,000 people a year in the U.S. and kills more than 34,000, according to the American Cancer Society.

The pancreas is a gland behind your stomach and in front of your spine. It produces juices that help break down food and hormones that help control blood sugar levels. Cancer of the pancreas is the fourth-leading cause of cancer death in the U.S. Some risk factors for developing pancreatic cancer include

* Smoking
* Long-term diabetes
* Chronic pancreatitis
* Certain hereditary disorders