Late-stage symptoms of pancreatic cancer

Written by Liu Liang
Oncology
Updated on September 18, 2024
00:00
00:00

Late symptoms of pancreatic cancer include abdominal pain, or sore and swollen back pain, as well as nausea, vomiting, decreased appetite, indigestion, and discomfort of upper abdominal fullness. These are some symptoms affecting the digestive tract. Additionally, there is jaundice caused by tumor compression of the bile duct, as well as skin itching, and even fever. Some patients show clinical manifestations such as ascites when there is metastasis to the liver, or abdominal or retroperitoneal lymph nodes.

Other Voices

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Shen Jiang Chao
Radiology
50sec home-news-image

Can pancreatic cancer be detected by a CT scan?

Pancreatic cancer can be detected by CT, which shows both direct and indirect signs. The direct signs of pancreatic cancer are manifested as pancreatic masses, which are mostly lobulated. On plain scans, the tumor appears isodense or slightly hypodense compared to the pancreatic parenchyma. When the tumor is large, it appears as a local protrusion, mostly located within the pancreas. In the early phase after enhancement, the tumor enhances less than the surrounding normal pancreatic tissue because pancreatic cancer is a hypovascular tumor. Indirect signs are mainly secondary changes caused by pancreatic cancer, mainly affecting the common bile duct and the main pancreatic duct, which can lead to pancreatic duct dilation, characterized by the typical double duct sign.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Huang Gang
Gastroenterology
43sec home-news-image

What to do about heart heat in late-stage pancreatic cancer?

In the late stages of pancreatic cancer, if you feel a burning sensation in the chest area, this is generally due to the spread of cancer cells causing this phenomenon. The spread of cancer cells can lead to an increase in body temperature, and even fever. There are also clinical manifestations such as palpitations, chest tightness, and increased heart rate. Treatment should be based on individual clinical symptoms, combined with the results of various examinations. Generally, in the late stages of pancreatic cancer, it is important to pay attention to replenishing the body's nutrition intravenously.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Zhou Zi Hua
Oncology
39sec home-news-image

Reasons for the low resection rate of pancreatic cancer

The resection rate for pancreatic cancer is relatively low because the pancreas is located behind the peritoneum in a deep position. In the early stages of pancreatic cancer, there are often no specific clinical symptoms. Therefore, by the time pancreatic cancer is detected in patients, it is usually already in the advanced stages. The pancreas is surrounded by blood vessels and nerves. Therefore, if it is found in the late stage, the surgical difficulty is very high, making it difficult to remove surgically, which is why the surgical resection rate for pancreatic cancer is low.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Liu Liang
Oncology
59sec home-news-image

What are the symptoms of late-stage pancreatic cancer?

Some common symptoms of advanced pancreatic cancer include abdominal pain and upper abdominal pain, and it is even possible to feel an obvious lump in the abdomen. Jaundice is also a common symptom. Some patients may also experience nausea, vomiting, abdominal bloating, and abdominal pain, even ascites, which is a sensation of abdominal fullness. They are unable to eat, and eating can worsen the bloating. These clinical manifestations are accompanied by clearly noticeable abdominal pain. There are also symptoms associated with distant organ metastasis, such as when metastasis to the lungs can cause shortness of breath, coughing, and even hemoptysis. Some patients may experience extensive abdominal metastasis, which can even lead to intestinal obstruction and other clinical presentations.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Liu Liang
Oncology
44sec home-news-image

What should I do if I can't stop vomiting due to pancreatic cancer?

Firstly, we need to ascertain the cause of the vomiting and can provide gastric protection and antiemetic treatment accordingly. If the vomiting is due to biliary obstruction caused by pancreatic cancer, resulting in severe jaundice and intense vomiting, in such cases, we can also place a stent surgically to drain the bile. The jaundice might be relieved afterwards, and accordingly, the vomiting symptoms might also be alleviated. Another aspect is, if the vomiting is caused by the tumor itself due to pancreatic cancer, we need to employ chemotherapy or some targeted or antiangiogenic treatments to control the tumor itself, and only then might the symptoms of vomiting be relieved.