What Are the Signs and Symptoms of Pancreatic Cancer?

Most pancreatic cancers are found at an advanced stage because patients usually have no symptoms during the early stages.

The following are the other most common symptoms of pancreatic cancer. However, each individual may experience symptoms differently. Symptoms may include:

• Diabetes - Pancreatic cancer sometimes causes diabetes mellitus (high blood sugar) because the tumor destroys the insulin-making cells. More often, though, the cancer causes slight problems with sugar metabolism that do not cause diabetes but can still be recognized by certain blood tests.
• Digestive problems - If the cancer blocks the release of the pancreatic juice into the intestine, you might not be able to digest fatty foods. This undigested fat can make stools unusually pale, bulky, and greasy; they often float in the toilet. The cancer may also block the stomach, which causes nausea, vomiting, and pain that increases after eating.
• Itching - In the later stages of pancreatic cancer, you may develop severe itching because large amounts of bile acids, a component of bile, are accumulating in your skin.
• Jaundice - When you have jaundice, your eyes and skin become yellow because bilirubin (a dark green-colored substance made in the liver) collects in these tissues and in the blood. At least half of all people with pancreatic cancer develop jaundice.
• Loss of appetite and weight loss - Unintended weight loss is a common sign of pancreatic cancer because cancerous (malignant) cells take nutrients away from healthy cells. This weight loss can make you feel weak.
• Nausea and vomiting - The tumor may block a portion of your digestive tract, usually the upper portion of your small intestine (duodenum), which causes nausea and vomiting.
• Pain - Pain in the abdomen or back is a very common sign of advanced pancreatic cancer, especially if the cancer is pressing on the nerves surrounding the pancreas. The pain may be constant or may come and go.

The symptoms of pancreatic cancer may resemble other conditions or medical problems. Always consult your physician for a diagnosis.

This content has been reviewed and approved by Myo Thant, MD.