page_title: Pancreatic cancer
section_title: Symptoms of spread
hierarchical_section_title: Pancreatic cancer / Signs and symptoms / Symptoms of spread
caption_attribution_description: Cross section of a human liver, taken at autopsy examination, showing multiple large pale tumor deposits. The tumor is an adenocarcinoma derived from a primary lesion in the body of the pancreas.
context_page_description: Pancreatic cancer arises when cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a mass. These cancerous cells have the ability to invade other parts of the body. There are a number of types of pancreatic cancer. The most common, pancreatic adenocarcinoma, accounts for about 90% of cases, and the term "pancreatic cancer" is sometimes used to refer only to that type. These adenocarcinomas start within the part of the pancreas which makes digestive enzymes. Several other types of cancer, which collectively represent the majority of the non-adenocarcinomas, can also arise from these cells. One to two percent of cases of pancreatic cancer are neuroendocrine tumors, which arise from the hormone-producing cells of the pancreas. These are generally less aggressive than pancreatic adenocarcinoma.
  Signs and symptoms of the most-common form of pancreatic cancer may include yellow skin, abdominal or back pain, unexplained weight loss, light-colored stools, dark urine, and loss of appetite.
context_section_description: The spread of pancreatic cancer to other organs (metastasis) may also cause symptoms. Typically, pancreatic adenocarcinoma first spreads to nearby lymph nodes, and later to the liver or to the peritoneal cavity, large intestine or lungs. It is uncommon for it to spread to the bones or brain.
  Cancers in the pancreas may also be secondary cancers that have spread from other parts of the body.  This is uncommon, found in only about 2% of cases of pancreatic cancer. Kidney cancer is by far the most common cancer to spread to the pancreas, followed by colorectal cancer, and then cancers of the skin, breast, and lung.  Surgery may be performed on the pancreas in such cases, whether in hope of a cure or to alleviate symptoms.
caption: Cross section of a human liver, at autopsy, showing many large pale tumor deposits, that are secondary tumors derived from pancreatic cancer
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