What are the symptoms of pancreatic tumors

Pancreatic cancer is a type of malignant tumor. It is a digestive tract tumor that is difficult to diagnose and treat. The five-year survival rate is less than 1%, making it one of the malignant tumors with the worst prognosis. In recent years, many celebrities have died of pancreatic cancer. The early symptoms of pancreatic cancer are usually not obvious until the late stage of the disease. So, what are the symptoms of pancreatic tumors?

First: Loss of appetite and weight loss: These are also common manifestations of pancreatic cancer. Tumors often block the excretion of pancreatic juice and bile, thus affecting the patient's appetite and causing poor digestion and absorption, leading to significant weight loss.

Second: Abdominal masses: In addition to causing obstructive jaundice, pancreatic head cancer often causes gallbladder enlargement, which can be clearly palpated in the right upper abdomen. Obstructive jaundice accompanied by gallbladder enlargement often indicates a periampullary tumor. Patients with advanced pancreatic cancer may have a fixed mass in the upper abdomen.

Third: obstructive jaundice: It is a prominent manifestation of pancreatic head cancer. If the tumor is near the ampulla, jaundice may occur earlier, and jaundice is often persistent and progressive. The stool becomes lighter in color, even clay-colored, the skin turns brown or bronze, and there is skin itching.

Fourth: Upper abdominal discomfort and dull pain: This is the most common first symptom of pancreatic cancer. Pancreatic tumors often cause obstruction of the pancreatic duct or bile duct. Although jaundice has not yet occurred, bile excretion is not smooth. However, due to the increased pressure in the bile duct, the bile duct and gallbladder have different degrees of expansion, so patients may feel abdominal discomfort and dull pain. In the past, the typical symptom of pancreatic head cancer was emphasized to be painless jaundice. In fact, painless jaundice only occurs in 10% to 30% of patients as the first symptom. Abdominal pain is still a very common symptom in patients with pancreatic head cancer. As for pancreatic body and tail cancer, the incidence of abdominal pain is higher, and it may be due to the involvement of the celiac plexus, which may present as significant upper abdominal pain and back pain. It should be pointed out that the appearance of this symptom often indicates that the disease has entered the late stage.

Fifth: Others: ascites, cachexia, liver, lung or bone metastasis and other manifestations.

Early detection and diagnosis of pancreatic cancer are important factors in determining the effectiveness of treatment. Most patients with early pancreatic cancer have no specific symptoms, and the first symptoms are easily confused with gastrointestinal and hepatobiliary diseases. Because some clinicians do not have enough knowledge of the early symptoms of pancreatic cancer, or do not fully collect medical history or conduct one-sided analysis, they often miss or misdiagnose. Therefore, patients must pay more attention, detect the disease early, and receive treatment as soon as possible.