Strang
Cancer Prevention Institute
Dedicated to promoting cure by early detection and research to prevent cancer since 1933
Early detection is your best protection
Pancreatic Cancer Screening and Prevention
1. Guidelines for Screening
The average lifetime risk of pancreatic cancer is less than 1%
About 90% of pancreatic cancers are sporadic
About 10% of pancreatic cancers are inherited
Low risk factors:
Increasing age, especially over age 60
African-Americans
Overweight or obese
Chronic pancreatitis
Incidental cystic lesions of the main or branched pancreatic ducts
Diabetes
Smoking
High risk factors:
Family history
Familial pancreatic cancer is when two or more first-degree relatives (parents, brothers, sisters and children) are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer
Families with three or more close relatives (first-degree relatives, grandparents, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, grandchildren, cousins) diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, and with one relative diagnosed before age 50, are also considered to have familial pancreatic cancer
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) estimates that the risk of developing pancreatic cancer is increased four to five times for a person with one first-degree relative with pancreatic cancer, six to seven times for a person with two first-degree relatives, and 32 times for a person with three first-degree relatives with the disease
Nearly one hundred genes have been associated with pancreatic cancer
The clinical conditions which are, or maybe, associated with pancreatic cancer are:
Familial malignant melanoma and pancreatic cancer (FAMM-PC)
Hereditary breast and ovarian cancer (HBOC) syndrome
Familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP)
Ataxia Telangiectasia Group D Complementing gene (ATDC)
Screening:
There is no standard procedure for screening either the general population or individuals with an increased risk of pancreatic cancer. Researchers are studying high resolution computed tomography (CT or CAT) scanning, endoscopic ultrasound and endoscopic retrograde pancreatocholangiography (also called endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography or ERCP) as possible screening methods
Patients with incidentally found on abdominal sonography or CT scan require endoscopic ultrasound and magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatograph
Screening is not recommended
2. Cancer Prevention
Controllable risk factors:
Eating a balanced diet
Maintaining a healthy weight
Exercising
Limiting alcoholic beverages
Avoiding tobacco products
Smoking is the biggest controllable risk factor for pancreatic cancer
Quitting smoking preferably by joining a smoking cessation program
Smoking cessation programs
A new study suggests aspirin may help reduce the risk of pancreatic cancer by approximately 25%
Strang Cancer Prevention Institute has developed and updates guidelines for cancer screening and best practices for cancer prevention using guidelines of the National Cancer Institute (NCI), the National Consortium of Cancer Centers Network (NCCCN) and the American Cancer Society (ACS). Strang is synonymous with cancer screening and prevention. Strang was the first medical facility to introduce the Pap test into clinical practice which has saved millions of women's lives worldwide. Strang was opened by first lady Eleanor Roosevelt in 1933.
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