🥚 Gastrointestinal🟢 BasicPancreatic Tumors

Carcinoma of the Pancreas

Cancer of the pancreas, often found late, classically causing painless yellowing of the skin when it blocks the bile duct.

Key points

Most pancreatic cancers are adenocarcinomas arising from the ducts, and most occur in the head of the gland.
A cancer in the head blocks the nearby bile duct, causing painless jaundice with dark urine and pale stools.
Courvoisier's law states that a painlessly enlarged, palpable gallbladder with jaundice is unlikely to be due to stones, so it suggests cancer.
It often spreads early and causes weight loss, back pain and a new onset of diabetes, so the outlook is generally poor.
The tumour marker CA 19-9 is often raised and helps to follow the disease.

Memory trick

Pancreatic cancer (ductal adenocarcinoma, usually the head) blocks the bile duct: painless jaundice, dark urine, pale stools; Courvoisier's law (palpable gallbladder means not stones); weight loss, back pain, new diabetes; CA 19-9.

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🥚 Gastrointestinal🟢 BasicPancreatic Tumors

Carcinoma of the Pancreas

Cancer of the pancreas, often found late, classically causing painless yellowing of the skin when it blocks the bile duct.

Key points

Most pancreatic cancers are adenocarcinomas arising from the ducts, and most occur in the head of the gland.
A cancer in the head blocks the nearby bile duct, causing painless jaundice with dark urine and pale stools.
Courvoisier's law states that a painlessly enlarged, palpable gallbladder with jaundice is unlikely to be due to stones, so it suggests cancer.
It often spreads early and causes weight loss, back pain and a new onset of diabetes, so the outlook is generally poor.
The tumour marker CA 19-9 is often raised and helps to follow the disease.

Memory trick

All of General Surgery More Gastrointestinal