Screening for Pancreatic Cancer

Saowanee Ngamruengphong; Marcia Irene Canto

doi:10.1016/j.suc.2016.07.016

Screening for Pancreatic Cancer

Surg Clin North Am. 2016 Dec;96(6):1223-1233. doi: 10.1016/j.suc.2016.07.016.

Authors

Saowanee Ngamruengphong¹, Marcia Irene Canto²

Affiliations

¹ Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Johns Hopkins Hospital, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Blalock 407, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA.
² Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Johns Hopkins Hospital, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Blalock 407, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA. Electronic address: mcanto1@jhmi.edu.

Abstract

Pancreatic cancer (PC) is a highly fatal disease that can only be cured by complete surgical resection. However, most patients with PC have unresectable disease at the time of diagnosis, highlighting the need to detect PC and its precursor lesions earlier in asymptomatic patients. Screening is not cost-effective for population-based screening of PC. Individuals with genetic risk factors for PC based on family history or known PC-associated genetic syndromes, however, can be a potential target for PC screening programs. This article provides an overview of the epidemiology and genetic background of familial PC and discusses diagnostic and management approaches.

Keywords: Familial pancreatic cancer; Intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm; Pancreatic cancer; Pancreatic cyst; Pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasia; Screening.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Early Detection of Cancer / methods*
Global Health
Humans
Morbidity / trends
Pancreatic Neoplasms / diagnosis*
Pancreatic Neoplasms / epidemiology*

Grants and funding

P30 DK089502/DK/NIDDK NIH HHS/United States