Screening for pancreatic cancer
Screening is a process for identifying those seemingly healthy
people who may be at increased risk of a disease or a condition.
The tests used must be safe, inexpensive and accurate. While they
allow people to make better informed choices about their health
there are risks. There are possibilities of both false positive and
negative results from such screening tests.
At the moment there are no tests available (anywhere in the
world) to screen the general population for pancreatic cancer.
Cancer of the pancreas is relatively uncommon, and it would cost a
lot of money to have a general screening programme for the UK
population for a relatively small number of cases (about 7,600
cases per year out of 50 million adults). However there are a small
number of people who could have a higher risk of developing
pancreatic cancer, and so screening would be of benefit.
Screening for cancer in high-risk individuals is known as
secondary cancer screening. The International Association of
Pancreatology recommends that all such individuals should be seen
at a special pancreas centre. There is no standard set of methods
at the moment, however based on current practice in major
pancreatic screening centres, the following information is
suggested;-
Screening is for people over 40 (or 10 years younger than the
youngest affected familial member) who have:
- Hereditary pancreatitis
- People from families with familial cancer syndromes (including
Peutz-Jeghers Syndrome, Breast and Ovarian Cancer Syndromes and
Familial Adenomatous Polyposis)
- Familial Pancreatic Cancer
The tests involved are:
- A baseline Endoluminal Ultrasound (EUS) and a CT scan along
with blood test to check for the tumour markers such as CA
19-9
- After this the EUS and blood test can be repeated yearly and
depending on the results of the EUS, the CT scan can be repeated
every three years
If possible it is recommended that families at risk get in touch
with EUROPAC, which is an
organisation involved in researching pancreatic cancer. They run
screening programmes and keep a register of families at high risk
of developing pancreatic cancer. If you think your family might be
at risk, please talk to your doctor who can put you in touch with
the EUROPAC office.