The diagnosis of pancreatic cancer relies on several tools.
Blood tests can help identify the causes of jaundice and may detect tumor markers.
Depending on the preliminary findings, a biopsy may or may not be needed before surgery.
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After diagnosis, staging is done to determine the most appropriate treatments for the disease.
Screening may be recommended based on your risk factors.
Your healthcare provider might also observe that you appear malnourished or that you seem to have lost weight.
Get our printable guide for your next healthcare appointment to help you ask the right questions.
Sudden-onset pancreatitis will show elevations in serum amylase and serum lipase in screening tests.
Get our printable guide for your next healthcare appointment to help you ask the right questions.
Imaging
Imaging tests are usually the primary method of visualizing a pancreatic mass.
Illustration by Verywell
Endoscopic ultrasound can be a valuable procedure in making the diagnosis of pancreatic cancer.
This test allows healthcare providers to get a very good look at the pancreas.
This procedure is done with conscious sedation, and it is usually tolerated well.
Before an octreoscan, a radioactive protein tracer is injected into a vein.
If present, neuroendocrine tumors will light up on the image.
Before this test, a small amount of radioactive sugar is injected into a vein.
A scan is done after the sugar has had time to be absorbed by cells.
Staging can also assist in estimating the prognosis of the disease.
There are several staging systems used for pancreatic cancer.
The simplest of these defines cancer as resectable, borderline resectable, or nonresectable.
TNM Staging
Healthcare providers use a system called TNM staging to determine the stage of a tumor.
For a primary pancreatic tumor:
Nstands for lymph nodes.
N0 would mean that a tumor has not spread to any lymph nodes.
N1 means that the tumor has spread to nearby lymph nodes.
If a tumor has not spread, it would be described as M0, meaning no distant metastasis.
If it has spread to distant regions (beyond the pancreas) it would be referred to as M1.
Based on TNM, tumors are given a stage between 0 and 4.
Its difficult to diagnose pancreatic cancer early because the organ is deep in the abdomen.
Most cases of pancreatic cancer arent diagnosed untilstage 4when its metastasized.
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