[Carcinoma of the pancreas: clinical signs and diagnostic procedures (author's transl)].

The patients seen at the medical clinic of a community hospital over 6 years included 291 with diseases of the pancreas, 52 of whom had carcinoma of the pancreas. Their signs and symptoms are listed. The triad of weight loss, icterus, and abdominal pain was the commonest symptom cluster. In one third of the cases the serum lipase was raised though the blood level of amylase was normal. Laparoscopy led to exploratory laparotomy in 94 percent of cases, which was performed an average of 14 days later. The future will show whether ERCP (+cytology) and CEA will improve the possibility of early diagnosis.