Pancreatic Cancer Flashcards

1
Q

Define Pancreatic Cancer?

A

Malignancy arising from the exocrine or endocrine tissues of the pancreas

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2
Q

What percentage of pancreatic cancers are hereditary?

A

5-10%

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3
Q

What causes these hereditary pancreatic cancers?

A

MEN
HNPCC
FAP
Von-Hippel Lindea Syndrome

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4
Q

What are the risk factors for Pancreatic Cancer?

A
Age 
Smoking
Diabetes Mellitus 
Chronic Pancreatitis 
Dietary (low intake of fresh fruit and vegetables)
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5
Q

What is the epidemiology of pancreatic cancer?

A

Increasing incidence
2x more common in MALES
Peak age: 60-80 years

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6
Q

What are the presenting symptoms of pancreatic cancer?

A
Initial symptoms are often NON-SPECIFIC 
Anorexia
Malaise 
Nausea
Epigastric Pain
Weight Loss 
DM
Jaundice
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7
Q

What are the signs of Pancreatic Cancer on physical examination?

A

Weight Loss
Epigastric tenderness or mass
Jaundice and a palpapble gallbladder (Courvoisier’s Law)
If metastatic spread then you would see hepatomegaly
Trousseau’s Sign of Malignancy

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8
Q

What is Trousseu’s Sign of Malignancy?

A

Superficial Thrombophlebitis

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9
Q

What bloods would you do for pancreatic cancer and what would you see?

A

CA 19-9
CEA is also elevated
Obstructive jaundice features

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10
Q

What are Obstructive Jaundice features?

A

High Bilirubin
High ALP
Deranged clotting

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11
Q

What are the imaging investigations you would do for Pancreatic Cancer?

A

Ultrasound
CT with/without guided biopsy
MRI/MRCP
ERCP - may allow biopsy, bile cytology and stenting

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