Corel Medical Series: Cancer/Corel Medical Series: Cancer.iso/mac/Program/c38.dxr/00062_Field_SRC.c38.A.7.txt

Text File | 1997-01-28 | 999b | 18 lines

Physical Examination
• Abdominal mass or painful distension.
• Rectal bleeding—possibly caused by ulcerations in the gastrointestinal tract— which may result in anemia .
• A partial or complete obstruction of the intestinal tract.
• Jaundice , which may be due to a tumor in the duodenum or to liver metastasis .
• Bowel kinking (intussusception).
• Often fatty fluid (chylous ascites) can collect in the abdomen.

Blood and Other Tests
• Blood counts usually show iron deficiency anemia when bleeding occurs.
• The level of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) in the blood is often elevated with adenocarcinomas.

Imaging
• The most useful x-rays are an upper gastrointestinal and a small bowel series. These can detect a small cancer
  (often a "napkin ring" deformity) or a polyp .
• X-rays showing small bowel thickening with ulceration may indicate a lymphoma.  An abdominal CT scan can
  help identify lesions outside the bowel, including metastases.