PMID: 7538290Jul 1, 1994Paper

Tumor of the pancreas. Support treatment

Arquivos De Gastroenterologia
M de L Da Silva

Abstract

Carcinoma of the pancreas has a poor prognosis with a short survival time. Despite diagnostic advances, diagnosis is often delayed because early symptoms are frequently vague and non-specific. Symptomatic treatment is the only possibility in the large majority of patients with pancreatic cancer since curative surgical excision of the tumor is only possible in few cases. Symptoms managed, in the aim to improve the quality of life, include weight loss and anorexia, abdominal pain, jaundice secondary to biliary compression and digestives consequences of pancreatic surgery. Anorexia is a frequent complaint in patients with pancreatic cancer, and contributes to decreased caloric intake, weight loss and malnutrition. Patients who are unable to eat, due to obstruction or dysfunctional gastrointestinal tract, may benefit from enteral or parenteral nutrition. Patients whose main reason to not obtain adequate food intake is anorexia may benefit from recently developed pharmacologic strategies. Megestrol acetate often produce an improvement in appetite and weight gain in patients with advanced cancer. Jaundice can be treated by surgical biliary drainage or better still by palliative biliary endoprosthesis. Percutaneous transhepatic or end...Continue Reading

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