the most common clinical and paraclinical findings in pancreatic cancer at taleghani hospital: 2000-2006

aim : the aim of this study was to assay the most common signs, symptoms, and positive paraclinical findings in pancreatic cancer. background : it seems that the most available method for early diagnosis of pancreatic cancer is using clinical history and especially appearance of early signs and symptoms. patients and methods : in this descriptive study, all pancreatic cancer patients referred to taleghani hospital between 2000 and 2006 were included. data were gathered from medical charts and entered to spss software. results : in total, 50 patients with pancreatic cancer (60% male and 40% female) during six years were included in the study. the most frequent age was the seventh decade (62%). the most common signs and symptoms were weight loss (82%), abdominal pain (78%), jaundice (74%), and itching (28%), respectively. the most important laboratory findings included anemia (58%), increased level of bilirubin (66%), and abnormal lfts (70%). the ultrasound and ct scan findings had abnormalities in all cases (100%). the reports of ercp had abnormalities in 79% of patients. there were no abnormal findings in 70% of endoscopic investigations. conclusion : in our study, the most common findings in signs and symptoms were weight loss, abdominal pain and jaundice, which mostly appear in advanced stage of pancreatic cancer. in addition, laboratory findings are usually nonspecific. the imaging evaluation of the pancreatic cancer is usually done in advanced stage of disease. therefore, it is suggested to study populations, especially high-risk populations, for early signs and symptoms of pancreatic cancer for decreasing the mortality and increasing the survival of these patients.