Symptoms of non functioning pancreatic NETs

Non functioning pancreatic neuroendocrine tumours (NETs) are rare cancers that start in neuroendocrine cells of the pancreas.

Non functioning means that the NET doesn’t make hormones. Or it makes hormones that don’t cause a set of symptoms. You might have symptoms caused by the growth and spread of the tumour. 

Symptoms

Symptoms usually develop slowly. Often, the tumour has already started to spread to other parts of the body such as the liver and the lymph nodes by the time it is diagnosed. Symptoms might include:

Tummy (abdominal) pain

Tummy pain happens to between 4 and 6 out of every 10 people with non functioning pancreatic NETs (40 and 60%).

Weight loss

You may lose a lot of weight even if you’re not dieting.

Indigestion

You can get indigestion when acid from the stomach goes back up (refluxes) into the food pipe or if the stomach is inflamed or irritated. Remember that indigestion is common and it's not usually caused by cancer.  

Yellowing of the skin and whites of the eyes

This is called jaundice. It can rarely happen because the tumour might block the tube that carries bile into the first part of the bowel (duodenum).

When to see your doctor

This page is due for review. We will update this as soon as possible.