Pancreatic cancer is the 10th most common cancer in the UK, with around 10,500 diagnoses made every year. However, it is the fifth most deadly, causing roughly 9,600 fatalities annually.
For this reason spotting any potential symptoms of the disease could be life-saving. But what should we be looking for?
One expert shared two important warning signs of pancreatic cancer to be aware of. While these symptoms do not definitely mean you have the disease, they should be investigated further just to be sure, he said.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Doctor James O’Donovan, explained more about the disease. He said: “Pancreatic cancer is a cancer that’s found anywhere in the pancreas, which is the organ in the top part of your tummy which helps you digest your food and makes hormones such as insulin.
“How serious pancreatic cancer is depends on where it is in the pancreas, how big it is, if it’s spread as well as your general health. So if you’re a clinician, NICE [National Institute for Health and Care Excellence] guidelines suggest that there are two important things to watch out for in patients who might have potential pancreatic cancer.”
The two criteria NICE warns to look for are:
- If you are 40 or older with jaundice
- If you are 60 or older with weight loss combined with either diarrhoea, back pain, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting constipation or new onset diabetes.
Jaundice
Jaundice appears as a yellowing of the skin and/or whites of the eyes. This may be harder to spot if you have darker skin.
“The first recommendation is that if your patient is 40 years of age or older with jaundice they need to be referred urgently within two weeks for a direct assessment on a suspected cancer pathway,” Dr O’Donovan said.
He explained how jaundice occurs. He said: “Jaundice is caused by a build-up of bilirubin which is a dark yellow brown substance made in the liver.
“Normally the liver releases a liquid called bile, which contains bilirubin. Bile goes through the common bile duct into the intestine where it helps break down fats.
“It eventually leaves the body in the stool when the common bile duct becomes blocked.
“Bile can’t reach the intestines and the amount of bilirubin in the body builds up.”
He continued: “Cancers that start in the head of the pancreas and near the common bile duct and these cancers compress on the duct and cause jaundice whilst they’re still fairly small which can sometimes lead to these tumours being found at an early stage.”
Jaundice doesn’t just affect the skin and eyes though. Dr O’Donovan said it could also cause dark urine, light or greasy stools and itchy skin.
He added: “It’s important to remember that pancreatic cancer is not the most common cause of jaundice.
“Other causes such as gallstones, hepatitis and other liver and bile duct diseases are much more common.”
Weight loss and other symptoms
Dr O’Donovan said: “The second important piece of guidance from the nice guidelines is that if your patient is aged 60 or over with weight loss and diarrhoea, back pain, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, constipation or new onset diabetes you should refer them for a direct urgent access CT scan.
“Or if CT is not available you can refer them for an ultrasound scan to assess for pancreatic cancer.”
The NHS lists symptoms of pancreatic cancer as:
- Jaundice
- Loss of appetite or losing weight without trying to
- Feeling tired or having no energy
- A high temperature, or feeling hot or shivery
- Feeling or being sick
- Diarrhoea or constipation, or other changes in your poo
- Pain at the top part of your tummy and your back, which may feel worse when you’re eating or lying down and better when you lean forward
- Symptoms of indigestion, such as feeling bloated.
If you experience any of these signs you should speak to your GP.