Clinical symptoms of pancreatic cancer

The clinical symptoms of pancreatic cancer mainly depend on the location of the tumor, whether it involves surrounding organs, whether complications occur, etc. Generally speaking, symptoms of pancreatic head cancer often appear relatively early, while body and tail cancer have few early symptoms.

(1) Abdominal pain: Abdominal pain is the most common symptom of pancreatic cancer. About 60% of patients experience 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 in the right upper abdomen, while that in pancreatic tail cancer is more in the left upper abdomen. In the early stage, due to incomplete obstruction of the common bile duct or pancreatic duct, bile is not drained smoothly after eating, so patients often feel dull pain and discomfort in the upper abdomen.

When the obstruction is complete, there is obvious dull pain in the upper abdomen, which worsens after meals. In the middle and late stages, patients often have back pain, which is related to body position, aggravated when lying on their backs, and relieved when bending forward or lying on their sides. Patients often dare not lie flat at night but lie prone or sit forward.

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

(3) Gastrointestinal symptoms: including loss of appetite, indigestion, nausea and vomiting, diarrhea, constipation or black stools, but they are not specific.

(4) Weight loss: Weight loss is a common symptom in pancreatic cancer patients (65%-90%). Weight loss in pancreatic cancer patients is characterized by rapid progression.

(5) Others: Patients may have obvious gastrointestinal symptoms, fever, symptomatic diabetes and mental symptoms.