Diagnosis of pancreatic cancer

Abstract

Pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer-related mortality. Its early diagnosis is difficult; therefore, no improvement has been seen in its survival rate in recent years, which remains less than 5%. It can present with various symptoms such as weight loss, jaundice, steatorrhea, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and back pain, depending on the location of the tumor in the pancreas. Diagnosis involves imaging studies such as ultrasound, endoscopic ultrasound, multidetector computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, magnetic retrograde cholangiopancreatogram, and/or tissue biopsy for histopathological confirmation. Tumor markers such as carbohydrate antigen 19-9 are a sensitive and specific test for pancreatic cancer diagnosis. They can have improved diagnostic accuracy when combined with other markers such as albumin and insulin-like growth factor. New diagnostic tumor markers are being investigated and are discussed in this chapter.