Laboratory examination methods for pancreatic cancer

The clinical symptoms of pancreatic cancer include abdominal pain, jaundice, weight loss, etc. The physical signs include upper abdominal tenderness, palpable cystic, movable, smooth-surfaced, enlarged gallbladder, ascites, etc. In addition to these, clinical diagnosis also requires relevant laboratory and imaging examinations. The laboratory examinations of pancreatic cancer mainly include the following three aspects:

1. Laboratory examination of blood and feces

The focus of blood tests for pancreatic cancer is to look at serum bilirubin, especially the increase in conjugated bilirubin. In addition, attention should be paid to changes in the levels of serum amylase, lipase, alkaline phosphatase, lactoferrin, serum ribonucleic acid, etc. Bilirubin can be detected in the urine of pancreatic cancer patients with severe jaundice, fecal bilinogen is reduced or disappeared in the feces, the stool color becomes lighter, and may be grayish white. Fat droplets can be seen in the feces of patients with malabsorption. Most pancreatic cancer patients have impaired glucose tolerance or high blood sugar and urine sugar. Concentrated cholecystokinin-secretin and secretin tests are performed on the duodenal drainage fluid of pancreatic cancer patients, and most of them show a significant decrease in amylase and bicarbonate levels.

2. Tumor marker detection

Although great progress has been made in the research of pancreatic cancer tumor markers, no pancreatic cancer-specific tumor markers have been found yet. It is currently believed that the combined detection of Down antigen (CA199) can improve the specificity and accuracy of pancreatic cancer diagnosis.

3. Histopathology and cytology examination

Cell or living tissue specimens are usually obtained through positioning puncture or fine needle aspiration during laparotomy, followed by histopathological and cytological examinations, with a high diagnosis rate.