What are the common symptoms of pancreatic cancer

The clinical symptoms of pancreatic cancer mainly depend on the location of the tumor, whether surrounding organs are affected, and whether there are complications. Generally, symptoms of pancreatic head cancer often appear relatively early, while symptoms of pancreatic tail cancer appear later.

1. Abdominal pain Abdominal pain is the most common symptom of pancreatic cancer. About 60% of patients have this as the first symptom. The location of abdominal pain in pancreatic cancer is deep and not very precise, and it is most common in the upper abdomen. According to the location of the tumor, abdominal pain in pancreatic head cancer is mostly biased to the right upper abdomen, while that in pancreatic tail cancer is biased to the left upper abdomen. In the early stage, due to incomplete obstruction of the common bile duct or pancreatic duct, bile is not emptied smoothly after eating, so people often feel discomfort and dull pain in the upper abdomen. When the obstruction is complete, the dull pain in the upper abdomen is obvious and worsens after meals. In the middle and late stages, patients often have low back pain, which is related to body position. It is aggravated when lying on the back, and relieved when bending forward or lying on the side. Patients often do not lie flat at night but lie prone or sit forward.

2. Jaundice and jaundice are mainly seen in cases of pancreatic head cancer. Although jaundice can be the first symptom of pancreatic cancer, it is not an early symptom. In the past, the characteristic of pancreatic cancer jaundice was emphasized as progressive and aggravated painless jaundice, but recent observations have found that the jaundice of some patients may fluctuate, and when the tumor is combined with inflammation, anti-inflammatory or hormone treatment can temporarily reduce it. At the same time, most patients have varying degrees of abdominal pain, and only about 25% of patients have painless jaundice.