Onset symptoms and tumor locations as prognostic factors of pancreatic cancer.

Objectives: The prognosis of pancreatic carcinoma is generally very poor and difficult to predict. The aim of this study was to quantitate prognosis with the onset symptoms.

Methods: Survival curves and clinicopathological findings of 209 patients with pancreatic cancer admitted to our hospital between 1992 and 1998 were retrospectively analyzed with reference to their onset symptoms (eg, abdominal pain, back pain, jaundice, general fatigue, nausea) and tumor location (eg, head, body, tail). The interval from the onset symptoms to the patient's first medical treatment and laboratory data of the patients were also reviewed. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed using Cox proportional hazards regression model.

Results: The patients who had initially had jaundice had a significantly shorter interval between onset symptoms and first medical treatment and a significantly better prognosis than other patients. The patients who initially had back pain had a significantly poorer rate survival rate. Onset symptoms had a significant correlation with tumor location, which is a significant prognostic factor, but remained a significant prognostic factor with multivariate analysis.

Conclusions: The onset symptom of patients with pancreatic carcinoma closely correlates with prognosis.