Patients with pancreatic carcinoma rarely have symptoms in early stages of the disease. Therefore, the tumor is often discovered late. First symptoms may be poor appetite, weakness, nausea, vomiting or diarrhea. Frequently, sufferers also report that they have long felt a pressure sensation in the upper abdomen or pain in the back. Especially if newly occurring abdominal pain radiates in the back and is also noticeable at night, you should consult a doctor. However, many of these symptoms do not clearly indicate pancreatic cancer. They can also occur in other digestive system disorders, for example, gastrointestinal infections.

Patients with pancreatic carcinoma rarely have symptoms in early stages of the disease. Therefore, the tumor is often discovered late. First symptoms may be poor appetite, weakness, nausea, vomiting or diarrhea. Frequently, sufferers also report that they have long felt a pressure sensation in the upper abdomen or pain in the back. Especially if newly occurring abdominal pain radiates in the back and are also noticeable at night, you should consult a doctor. However, many of these symptoms do not clearly indicate pancreatic cancer. They can also occur in other digestive system disorders, for example, gastrointestinal infections. Significant weight loss is definitely a warning sign. If someone inadvertently loses weight significantly within a few months, it can always be due to malignant disease, such as pancreatic cancer. The cause of weight loss should definitely be clarified by a medical examination. What causes these and other complaints? Above all, an exocrine pancreatic tumor causes discomfort when it displaces or grows into adjacent organs such as the stomach, duodenum, peritoneum, or spleen, thus interfering with its function. This explains nonspecific pain and indigestion, but also complaints that are typical of the affected organs. An example is a biliary discomfort: Through the pancreatic head runs the bile duct, which leads from the liver through the pancreatic head to the duodenum. If a tumor narrows this bile duct, the bile produced in the liver can not run off. In affected patients, corresponding symptoms develop: Due to the lack of bile in the intestine, the fat digestion may be disturbed. Undigested fat is excreted in the form of so-called "fatty stools": the stool has a lighter color than usual and is greasy, sticky or shiny, and smells very unpleasant. If the bile accumulates, the dye contained in the bile fluid increasingly enters the blood and accumulates in the body. A yellowing of the white skin, brown color of the urine and yellowing and itching of the skin are the result. These gallbladder complaints are initially not typical of pancreatic carcinoma. They can also be found in other diseases, especially if gallstones are laying the bile duct. However, gallstones usually cause severe pain that may not necessarily occur in pancreatic cancer. Some patients with advanced pancreatic tumors may experience insulin production disorders. Patients, therefore, develop signs of diabetes, diabetes. In some patients, a pancreatic carcinoma leads to altered blood clotting. As a result, blood clots form in the blood vessels, so-called thromboses.