Common signs of pancreatic cancer

The main signs of pancreatic cancer include jaundice, abdominal mass, enlarged liver, and enlarged gallbladder.

1. Jaundice: 10% to 30% of patients present with jaundice as the first symptom, and 57% to 79% of patients present with jaundice throughout the course. 62% to 69% of patients with tumors located in the head of the pancreas present with jaundice. Patients with pancreatic tail cancer often do not have jaundice symptoms, but jaundice may occur in the late stage. 5% of patients with obstructive jaundice have dark yellow urine and clay-like stools. About 30% of patients have persistent skin itching, which progressively worsens.

2. Abdominal masses are usually late-stage signs. The incidence rate is high in the pancreatic body and tail. Pancreatic head masses are usually located in the right upper abdomen and middle upper abdomen, while body and tail cancers are usually located in the left upper abdomen. When the tumor compresses the abdominal aorta or splenic artery, a blowing-like vascular murmur can be heard around the umbilicus or in the left upper abdomen, which is more common in pancreatic body and tail cancer.

3. Enlarged gallbladder and Courvoisier sign: Nearly half of the patients can feel the enlarged gallbladder, which is related to the obstruction of the lower end of the common bile duct. Painless obstructive jaundice accompanied by enlarged gallbladder is called Courvoisier sign, which has diagnostic significance for pancreatic head cancer.

4. Hepatomegaly: 30% to 50% of patients have hepatomegaly due to cholestasis and liver metastasis of cancer.