Pancreatic arteriovenous malformation

s / Pancreatology Aims: To devise and pilot a symptom questionnaire to determine the efficacy of existing decision tools in identifying symptoms of pancreatic cancer and to determine the prevalence and timing of associated symptoms. Patients & methods: This was a hospital based case control study which involved the piloting of a novel symptom questionnaire. The questionnaire included symptoms from both current clinical decision tools for pancreatic cancer: the QCancer® tool and the RAT. The frequency of symptoms, the timing of onset as well as the management of condition were retrospectively reviewed via face to face interviews. Results: The median QCancer ® 2013 score is higher in pancreatic cancer patients (2.47%) compared with cholangiocarcinoma patients (0.74%) and benign pancreatobiliary patients (0.44%). Unintentional weight loss, abdominal pain, heartburn, back pain, steatorrhoea, diarrhoea were reported by a majority of pancreatic cancer patients. Conclusion: Patients with pancreatic cancer presenting with key symptoms have the potential to be identified earlier by clinical diagnostic algorithms in primary care.