What are the symptoms of pancreatic cancer?

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Symptoms of a blocked bile duct

In about 7 in 10 cases the tumour first develops in the head of the pancreas. A small tumour often causes no symptoms at first. As the tumour grows it tends to block the bile duct. This stops the flow of bile into the duodenum which leads to:

Jaundice (yellow skin caused by bile seeping into the bloodstream due to the blockage).
Dark urine - caused by the jaundiced blood being filtered by the kidneys.
Pale faeces - as the faeces contain no bile which causes their normal brown colour.
Generalised itch caused by the bile in the bloodstream.

Pain is often not a feature at first. Therefore a 'painless jaundice' that becomes worse is often the first sign of pancreatic cancer. Nausea and vomiting are also fairly common symptoms.

Other symptoms

As the cancer grows in the pancreas, further symptoms that may develop include:

Pain in the upper abdomen. Pain can also pass through to the back.
You may feel generally unwell and lose weight. These symptoms are often the first to develop if the cancer develops in the body or tail of the pancreas (when the bile duct is not blocked).
You may not digest food very well as the amount of pancreatic fluid will be reduced. This can cause smelly pale faeces and weight loss.
Rarely, diabetes develops if nearly all the pancreas is damaged by the tumour.
Rarely, a tumour can trigger inflammation of the pancreas - 'acute pancreatitis'. This can cause severe abdominal pain.

If the cancer spreads to other parts of the body, various other symptoms can develop.