Miguel Bronchud, Co-Founder and Advisory Board at Regenerative Medicine Solutions, shared a post on LinkedIn:
“When and how to screen for pancreatic cancer?
Pancreatic cancer (PC) is one of the most commonly feared and deadliest malignancies. Due to its insidious onset and often asymptomatic early course, approximately 80% of PCs are diagnosed at an advanced, unresectable stage.
Currently, the estimated 5-year survival rate for pancreatic adenocarcinoma in the United State is only 13%.
However, 5-year survival for early-stage (IA) PC is more than 80%, highlighting the importance of early diagnosis.
Title: Recent Trends in the Incidence and Survival of Stage 1A Pancreatic Cancer: A Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Analysis
Authors: Amanda L. Blackford, Marcia Irene Canto, Alison P. Klein, Ralph H. Hruban, Michael Goggins
Read the Full Article.
The 5-year overall survival for stage IA PDAC – with new imaging diagnostics and better surgical techniques – improved from 44.7% (95% CI = 31.4 to 63.7) in 2004 to 83.7% (95% CI = 78.6% to 89.2%) in 2012; 10-year survival improved from 36.7% (95% CI = 24.1 to 55.8) in 2004 to 49.0% (95% CI = 37.2% to 64.6%) in 2007.
In recent years, the proportion of patients diagnosed with stage IA PDAC has increased, their average age at diagnosis has decreased, and their overall survival has improved. These trends may be the result of improved early diagnosis and early detection.
But there is no international consensus on exactly how and when screening should take place.
Title: Pancreatic Cancer Surveillance and Survival of High-Risk Individuals
Authors: Amanda L. Blackford, Marcia Irene Canto, Mohamad Dbouk, Ralph H. Hruban, Bryson W. Katona, Amitabh Chak, Randall E. Brand, Sapna Syngal, James Farrell, Fay Kastrinos, Elena M. Stoffel, Anil Rustgi, Alison P. Klein, Ihab Kamel, Elliot K. Fishman, Jin He, Richard Burkhart, Eun Ji Shin, Anne Marie Lennon, Michael Goggins
Read the Full Article.
Current US Preventive Task Force guidelines do not recommend routine PC screening for the general population (Grade D recommendation) given the low incidence of disease, potential harms, and costs associated with widespread screening.
However, for certain high-risk individuals (HRIs) who have familial and/or genetic risk including individuals who are carriers of a pathogenic germline variant (PGV) in a known PC risk gene or those with a strong family history of PC, PC surveillance is recommended.
Follow up is also recommended in Intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasia (IPMN) of the pancreas – a tumor growing in the pancreatic ducts that produces mucus and can be benign, premalignant, or even a type of cancer.
IPMN can range from a benign lesion to an invasive carcinoma and is often diagnosed incidentally on imaging performed for other reasons, including other medical or surgical pathologies and episodes of pancreatitis.
Symptoms may include abdominal pain, weight loss, or jaundice, although many cases are asymptomatic, and treatment is usually surgical removal. There are subtypes depending on the ducts affected, primarily the main duct (highest risk of malignancy) and the secondary branches. It can progress from benign lesions to high-grade dysplasia and, ultimately, to invasive carcinoma.”
More posts featuring Miguel Bronchud on OncoDaily.