Background and Objective: Pancreatic cancer is one of the most deathly malignancies, which causes
many deaths in Iran and the world every year. Despite advances and new information about cancers,
pancreatic tumors can be diagnosed with different clinical and laboratory symptoms. Therefore, this study
was conducted with the aim of investigating the clinical and paraclinical findings of patients with
periampullary and pancreatic head tumors.
Materials & Methods: In this retrospective cross-sectional study, patients with mass in pancreatic
head and periampullary region who underwent surgery at Imam Khomeini Hospital in Tehran between 2011
and 2016 were included in the study according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. By using the patients'
medical records, personal information including age, sex, history of alcohol consumption and presentation
symptoms of the patients were recorded. Then laboratory and imaging findings (CT scan and ultrasound) as
well as the histopathological types of resected tumor were collected based on the pathology report.
Results: This study included 65 patients; the frequency of men (67.6%) was higher than women
(32.4%). The mean age of the patients was 60.6 years. No underlying disease was reported and there was a
history of alcohol consumption in 18 patients (27.6%). Jaundice was the most common complaint in all
patients and diarrhea was the least common symptom (12 patients). The mortality rate was 4.6%. The mean
total bilirubin level was 13.4±3.3, and most of the patients (44 people) had higher than 8. The mean of direct
bilirubin was 10.9±2.2, which was more than 8 in most patients (39 people). The mean of alkaline
phosphatase, PT, AST and ALT were also increased and were higher than the normal range. Abdominal
ultrasound was performed in all patients, which showed dilatation of intra- and extra-hepatic ducts. Other
imaging findings included pancreatic head lesions, gallbladder enlargement, and hepatic metastases. CT
scan, which was performed in 45 cases, showed similar findings with hypodense foci in the pancreas and
hepatic metastases. The most common histopathology observed in the present study was adenocarcinoma
(34 patients, 52.3%), while serous adenoma cyst was reported in only one patient (1.5%).
Conclusion: The findings of the present study showed that the prevalence of pancreatic cancer is
higher in older and men patients. Also, jaundice and dilation of both intra- and extra-hepatic ducts were the
most common clinical and paraclinical findings, respectively. Also, increased bilirubin and alkaline
phosphatase are common laboratory symptoms in patients, and adenocarcinoma is the most reported
pathology in pancreatic cancer patients.