Pancreatic carcinoma

Painless jaundice is an ominous sign in a patient who has been losing weight. The presence of jaundice, dark urine, and pale stools indicate an obstruction to biliary flow, which may be caused by gallstones, a biliary stricture of a mass compressing bile ducts. Courvoisier's law states that a palpable gall bladder in the presence of painless jaundice is unlikely to be gallstones. Patients present with painless obstructive jaundice, a mass in the right hypochondrium and significant weight loss. This strongly suggests a diagnosis of pancreatic carcinoma. A CT scan is typically undertaken to diagnose and stage the tumour. Prognosis is poor. Surgery should be considered as early as possible to avoid metastases if possible. Pancreaticoduodenectomy (Whipple's procedure) have up to 25% 5 year survival. Those with unresectable tumour have less than 6 months usually.