Pancreatic carcinoma is associated with delayed gastric emptying

Fifteen patients with histologically confirmed pancreatic carcinoma, without evidence of gastroduodenal invasion or obstruction, were prospectively studied to determine the frequency of gastric emptying disorders as determined by a solid-phase gastric emptying study. Nine of these (60%) had gastric emptying curves more than two standard deviations below normal mean values. The majority of patients did not have symptoms of gastric stasis. Nausea and/or vomiting was present in 33% of patients with abnormal gastric emptying and in none of those with normal emptying. Abdominal and/or back pain was present in 8/9 with delayed gastric emptying and in 3/6 with normal emptying. Disordered gastric emptying did not correlate with tumor stage, histology, location, or hyperbilirubinemia. Delayed solid-food gastric emptying may be responsible for the nonspecific abdominal complaints that occur during the course of pancreatic carcinoma, although more frequently, gastroparesis exists on a subclinical level.