Pancreatic Cancer Flashcards
What are the 3 types of Pancreatic cancer?
- Ductal carcinoma (most common)
- Exocrine tumours (pancreatic cystic carcinoma)
- Endocrine tumours (derived from islet cells)
What are the risk factors for pancreatic cancer? (6 things)
- Smoking
- Age
- Chronic Pancreatitis
- DM
- HNPCC
- BRCA2 gene
Why is pancreatic cancer diagnosed late?
Presents in an unspecific way
What are the clinical features of pancreatic cancer? (3 things)
- Obst jaundice
- Weight loss
- Abd pain
What causes the obst jaundice is pancreatic cancer?
Compression of common bile duct
What are the features of the obst jaundice in pancreatic cancer? (3 things)
- Painless
- Pruritis (itchy skin)
- Light coloured stools
What does weight loss indicate about pancreatic cancer?
Advanced disease
What causes the abd pain in pancreatic cancer?
Invasion of coeliac plexus
What are some differentials that present similarly to pancreatic cancer? (7 things)
Causes of obst jaundice
- Gallstone disease
- Cholangiocarcinoma
- Benign gall bladder stricture
Causes of epigastric abd pain
- Gallstones
- PUD
- Gastric carcinoma
- Acute coronary syndrom
What lab tests should be done for suspected pancreatic cancer?
- FBC
- LFT
- CA19-9 tumour marker
What would a FBC show in pancreatic cancer? (2 things)
- Anaemia
2. Thrombocytopenia
What would a LFT show in pancreatic cancer? (3 things)
- High bilirubin
- High alkaline phosphatase
- High gamma-GT
= obst jaundice
What imaging should be done for suspected pancreatic cancer? (5 thigns)
- Abd US (initially)
- CT (diagnostic)
- CT chest-abd-pelvis
- Endoscopic US
- ERCP
What would an Abd US show in pancreatic cancer? (2 things)
- Pancreatic mass
Dilated biliary tree
What is the most important scan for pancreatic cancer diagnosis?
CT