A recent study published in the American Journal of Gastroenterology suggests screening at-risk relatives for pancreatic cancer may be worthwhile, but authors of the study warn healthcare experts to be cautiously optimistic, according to a Reuters news report.
The study, led by Emmy Ludwig, MD, of the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City, involved enrolling more than 300 relatives of individuals with familial pancreatic cancer into a Familial Pancreatic Tumor Registry. The relatives were offered screening with magnetic resonance cholangiopancreaticogram, followed by endoscopic ultrasound with fine needle aspiration if indicated. Results from the study suggest screening, particularly for relatives over the age of 65, may be useful.
However, Dr. Ludwig issued one caution. "No single group has definitively proven that routine screening is of benefit," she said in an email to Reuters. "Our findings, we feel, add to the growing literature that suggests screening may be worthwhile. None of us has proven it."
Dr. Ludwig said larger and longer-term studies are needed to further assess whether pancreatic cancer screening can save lives, according to the news report.
Read the news report about pancreatic cancer screening.
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The study, led by Emmy Ludwig, MD, of the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City, involved enrolling more than 300 relatives of individuals with familial pancreatic cancer into a Familial Pancreatic Tumor Registry. The relatives were offered screening with magnetic resonance cholangiopancreaticogram, followed by endoscopic ultrasound with fine needle aspiration if indicated. Results from the study suggest screening, particularly for relatives over the age of 65, may be useful.
However, Dr. Ludwig issued one caution. "No single group has definitively proven that routine screening is of benefit," she said in an email to Reuters. "Our findings, we feel, add to the growing literature that suggests screening may be worthwhile. None of us has proven it."
Dr. Ludwig said larger and longer-term studies are needed to further assess whether pancreatic cancer screening can save lives, according to the news report.
Read the news report about pancreatic cancer screening.
Read other coverage about GI:
- Insulin Sensitizers May Help Ward Off Colorectal Cancer for Diabetes Patients
- Study Shows No Link Between Folates, Colorectal Cancer
- Two Samples in FIT Testing Improves Diagnostic Yield Without Affecting Attendance