Both a thorough medical history and physical examination will be taken first by a primary-care physician and later by a gastroenterologist. The physical examination will focus on the abdomen, and the doctor will look for accumulation of fluid and masses within the abdominal area. The physician will ask the patient whether he or she has experienced significant weight loss or pain, and will check for jaundice, the yellowing of the whites of the eyes and the skin. He or she will also check for swollen lymph nodes, which can indicate whether the cancer has spread.

Imaging tests used by the physician in diagnosis may include:

Computed tomography (CT) scan
Computed tomography, or a CT scan, consists of an X-ray that takes pictures of the body from many different angles. Then, a computer will interpret all of these images into a detailed, cross-sectional view. The CT scan can help identify the exact location of many types of pancreatic tumors and can also help determine if the tumor has invaded major local blood vessels or spread to other organs within the abdomen. Injection of a dye (contrast medium) into a vein, before the CT scanning, produces clearer images and differentiates normal tissue from tumors in the pancreas.

Ultrasound (US)
An imaging procedure that uses an external probe to bounce sound waves off of the pancreas, producing echoes that are translated by a computer into a video screen image (orsonogram).

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
Magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI, is similar to CT scanning, but uses magnetic fields, and not X-rays, to produce detailed images of the body. MRI is also used to determine if cancer has invaded or compressed major blood vessels close to the pancreas.

Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP)
During this test, a flexible tube is guided down the patient's throat, through the esophagus and stomach and into the small intestine. Because the doctor can see through the tube, via a tiny camera attached to the end, he or she can inject dye directly into the bile and pancreatic ducts as X-rays are taken. The physician will look for blockage or constriction of the bile or pancreatic duct that could be caused by a cancerous tumor. The physician will sometimes use a small brush, inserted through the tube, to remove cells from a constricted area for examination under a microscope.

Angiography
During this X-ray procedure, done with local anesthesia, contrast material is first injected into an artery in the upper thigh to outline blood vessels leading to the pancreas. X-rays are then taken to observe if the cancer has spread through the walls of the blood vessels, as well as to guide doctors in planning surgery.

Laparoscopy
This test is performed under general anesthesia and requires minimally invasive surgery. A very small telescope attached to a tiny camera is guided through a half-inch incision in the abdomen, allowing the surgeon to examine organs in the abdominal cavity and determine whether the disease has spread.