Scientists from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center found by the year 2030, pancreatic cancer is expected to become the second most common cause of cancer deaths for both men and women in the United States.
The research is published in Gastrointestinal Endoscopy and was conducted by Mandeep S. Sawhney et al.
While considered uncommon, inherited gene mutations can increase a person’s risk of developing pancreatic cancer.
Early detection of cancer is key to a greater chance of survival, but it is difficult to catch pancreatic cancer early as people usually have no symptoms until the cancer has advanced and is hard to treat.
In the study, the team contributed to new national guidelines recommending annual pancreatic cancer screening for patients who are at increased risk because of genetic susceptibility.
While earlier guidelines had restricted screening to only those individuals with BRCA 1/2 who had a family history of pancreatic cancer, the new guidelines expand the indication for screening for all with the gene variations regardless of family history.
The team says because less than 25 percent of patients with BRCA 1/2 who develop pancreatic cancer have a family history of pancreatic cancer, most cancers will be missed if screening is restricted to those with a family history.
Although screen-detected pancreatic cancers are more likely to be diagnosed at an earlier and more treatable stage, it is important to acknowledge the potential downsides of screening.
These guidelines are the first to quantify harms from pancreatic cancer screening resulting from false-positive screening test results and encourage care providers to carefully counsel their patients before enrolling in a screening program.
If you care about cancer prevention, please read studies about how to reduce pancreatic cancer spread by nearly 90%, and scientists find a new way to kill pancreatic cancer.
For more information about cancer risk, please see recent studies about drug that can strengthen immune system to fight cancer, and results showing Aspirin may boost survival in these two cancers.
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