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Symptoms

By Mayo Clinic staff

Living with cancer newsletter

Subscribe to our Living with cancer newsletter to stay up to date on cancer topics.

Signs and symptoms of pancreatic cancer often don't occur until the disease is advanced. When signs and symptoms do appear, they may include:

  • Upper abdominal pain that may radiate to your back
  • Yellowing of your skin and the whites of your eyes (jaundice)
  • Loss of appetite
  • Weight loss
  • Depression
  • Blood clots

When to see a doctor
See your doctor if you experience unexplained weight loss, abdominal pain, jaundice, or other signs and symptoms that bother you. Many diseases and conditions other than cancer may cause similar signs and symptoms, so your doctor may check for these conditions as well as for pancreatic cancer.

References
  1. What you need to know about cancer of the pancreas. National Cancer Institute. http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/wyntk/pancreas/allpages. Accessed Feb. 17, 2010.
  2. Pancreatic cancer treatment (PDQ): Health professional version. National Cancer Institute. http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/treatment/pancreatic/healthprofessional/allpages. Accessed Feb. 17, 2010.
  3. Drebin JA, et al. Carcinoma of the pancreas. In: Abeloff MD, et al. Abeloff's Clinical Oncology. 4th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Churchill Livingstone; 2008:1595.
  4. Freitas D, et al. Medical management of pancreatic adenocarcinoma. Pancreatology. 2009;9:223.
  5. Pancreatic adenocarcinoma. Fort Washington, Pa.: National Comprehensive Cancer Network. http://www.nccn.org/professionals/physician_gls/PDF/pancreatic.pdf. Accessed Feb. 17, 2010.
  6. Locker GY, et al. ASCO 2006 update of recommendations for the use of tumor markers in gastrointestinal cancer. Journal of Clinical Oncology. 2006;24:5313.
  7. Barbara Woodward Lips Patient Education Center. About your Whipple operation. Rochester, Minn.: Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research; 2006:17.
  8. Tarceva (prescribing information). Melville, N.Y.: OSI Pharmaceuticals Inc.; 2009. http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/drugsatfda_docs/label/2009/021743s015lbl.pdf. Accessed Feb. 23, 2010.
  9. Pliarchopoulou K, et al. Pancreatic cancer: Current and future treatment strategies. Cancer Treatment Reviews. 2009;35:431.
  10. Clark KL, et al. Psychological distress in patients with pancreatic cancer - An understudied group. Psycho-Oncology. In press. Accessed Feb. 23, 2010.
  11. Distress management. Fort Washington, Pa.: National Comprehensive Cancer Network. http://www.nccn.org/professionals/physician_gls/PDF/distress.pdf. Accessed Feb. 23, 2010.
DS00357 April 10, 2010

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