Abstract

Abstract

Background: Pancreatic cancer is a rapidly progressive disease with a low 5-year survival rate, an increasing incidence, and substantial difficulty in diagnosis at the early stages. Detecting suspected cases of pancreatic cancer to send patients for imaging tests and take samples for histopathology is an extremely important issue. The objectives of this study were: (1) Characterize the clinical and biological features of patients with pancreatic cancer; and (2) Evaluate overall survival and identify prognostic factors associated with mortality.

Subjects and Methods: This was a prospective descriptive study conducted in patients with suspected pancreatic cancer who underwent endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle biopsy (EUS-FNB) at the Endoscopy Department, Cho Ray Hospital.

Results: A total of 89 patients were diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Abdominal pain was the most frequent presenting symptom (92.1%). Hyperglycemia at the time of diagnosis was observed in 57.3% of patients. Elevated CA19-9 and CEA levels were found in 80.9% and 44.9% of cases, respectively. The mean overall survival from diagnosis was 4.44 ± 2.62 months. Patients receiving chemotherapy had significantly longer overall survival compared with those receiving non-specific treatment (P<0.001). Tumor size, vascular invasion, and distant metastasis were identified as independent prognostic factors for mortality (P<0.05).

Conclusions: The clinical presentation of pancreatic cancer is generally nonspecific, with abdominal pain being the most common symptom. Tumor size, vascular invasion, and distant metastasis are independent prognostic factors in patients with pancreatic cancer.