Does steatorrhea necessarily mean pancreatic cancer? Not necessarily

Is steatorrhea definitely pancreatic cancer? Steatorrhea is a term used in traditional Chinese medicine. In Western medicine, it is also called indigestion syndrome and small intestinal malabsorption. There are many causes of steatorrhea. Patients mainly experience diarrhea, which is typically steatorrhea. The stool is light-colored, large in volume, greasy or foamy, and often has a foul odor. So, is steatorrhea definitely pancreatic cancer?

Pancreatic cancer can cause symptoms of steatorrhea, but steatorrhea does not necessarily mean pancreatic cancer. The following conditions can also cause steatorrhea:

1. Hepatobiliary diseases: They are more common in extrahepatic bile duct obstruction or intrahepatic bile duct obstruction, because bile duct obstruction is most likely to cause bile retention and changes in bile composition, which leads to a significant decrease in the concentration of bile acid in the intestinal cavity, thereby affecting the digestive function of fat hydrolysis and fatty acid decomposition, forcing fat to be excreted from the stool and causing steatorrhea.

2. Intestinal diseases: various intestinal infections, extensive small intestine resection, primary small intestinal lymphoma, small intestinal ischemia caused by arteriosclerosis, intestinal lipid metabolism syndrome, eosinophilic gastroenteritis, food allergies, etc., may damage the digestive function of the small intestinal mucosal epithelial cells and cause steatorrhea.

3. Endocrine diseases: Adrenal cortex hypofunction, hypothyroidism, and even steatorrhea in a few patients with hyperthyroidism can also cause steatorrhea. This is because endocrine disorders can easily lead to lipid metabolism disorders, resulting in steatorrhea.

4. Others: β-lipoproteinemia, γ-globulinemia, partial gastrectomy, and scleroderma can also easily cause decreased fat metabolism function and lead to steatorrhea.

If you want to prevent steatorrhea, you must actively prevent the occurrence of the primary disease. For example, dietary hygiene can prevent steatorrhea caused by intestinal bacterial infection. The prevention of steatorrhea caused by endocrine diseases such as hypothyroidism lies in the treatment and prevention of the primary disease. In addition, you should also avoid eating too much fatty food.