Jaundice can be a symptom, due to biliary obstruction from a<unk>  tumor. Since<unk>  usually does not cause recognizable symptoms in its early stages, the disease is typically not diagnosed until it has spread beyond the pancreas itself. This is one of the main reasons for the generally poor survival rates. Exceptions to this are the functioning PanNETs, where over-production of various active hormones can give rise to symptoms (which depend on the type of hormone). Bearing in mind that the disease is rarely diagnosed before the age of 40, common symptoms of<unk>  adenocarcinoma occurring before diagnosis include: * Pain in the upper abdomen or back, often spreading from around the stomach to the back. The location of the pain can indicate the part of the pancreas where a tumor is located. The pain may be worse at night and may increase over time to become severe and unremitting. It may be slightly relieved by bending forward. In the UK, about half of new cases of<unk>  are diagnosed following a visit to a hospital emergency department for pain or jaundice. In up to two-thirds of people, abdominal pain is the main symptom, for 46% of the total accompanied by jaundice, with 13% having jaundice without pain. * Jaundice, a yellow tint to the whites of the eyes or skin, with or without pain, and possibly in combination with darkened urine, results when a cancer in the head of the pancreas obstructs the common bile duct as it runs through the pancreas. * Unexplained weight loss, either from loss of appetite, or loss of exocrine function resulting in poor digestion. * The tumor may compress neighboring organs, disrupting digestive processes and making it difficult for the stomach to empty, which may cause nausea and a feeling of fullness. The undigested fat leads to foul-smelling, fatty feces that are difficult to flush away. Constipation is also common. * At least 50% of people with<unk>  adenocarcinoma have diabetes at the time of diagnosis. While long-standing diabetes is a known risk factor for<unk>  (see Risk factors), the cancer can itself cause diabetes, in which case recent onset of diabetes could be considered an early sign of the disease. People over 50 who develop diabetes have eight times the usual risk of developing<unk>  adenocarcinoma within three years, after which the relative risk declines. Other findings * Trousseau's syndrome – in which blood clots form spontaneously in the portal blood vessels (portal vein thrombosis), the deep veins of the extremities (deep vein thrombosis), or the superficial veins (superficial vein thrombosis) anywhere on the body – may be associated with<unk> , and is found in about 10% of cases. * Clinical depression has been reported in association with<unk>  in some 10–20% of cases, and can be a hindrance to optimal management. The depression sometimes appears before the diagnosis of cancer, suggesting that it may be brought on by the biology of the disease. Other common manifestations of the disease include weakness and tiring easily, dry mouth, sleep problems, and a palpable abdominal mass. Symptoms of spread Cross-section of a human liver, at autopsy, showing many large pale tumor deposits, that are secondary tumors derived from<unk>  The spread of<unk>  to other organs (metastasis) may also cause symptoms. Typically,<unk>  adenocarcinoma first spreads to nearby lymph nodes, and later to the liver or to the peritoneal cavity, large intestine, or lungs. Uncommonly, it spreads to the bones or brain. Cancers in the pancreas may also be secondary cancers that have spread from other parts of the body. This is uncommon, found in only about 2% of cases of<unk> . Kidney cancer is by far the most common cancer to spread to the pancreas, followed by colorectal cancer, and then cancers of the skin, breast, and lung. Surgery may be performed on the pancreas in such cases, whether in hope of a cure or to alleviate symptoms.
Pancreatic cancer
Autoimmune pancreatitis
Liver cancer
Duodenal cancer
Gallbladder cancer
Periampullary cancer
Kang cancer
Small intestine cancer