Outcomes of endoscopic ultrasound as a one-off pancreatic cancer screening tool for 122 high- and moderate-risk patients

Abstract

Background and Aim Pancreatic cancer (PC) carries a poor prognosis and is often detected at later stages. Screening programs for moderate‐ and high‐risk people are still under debate. We present the results from a prospective study on endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) as a one‐off screening tool for pancreatic cancer screening.

Methods Asymptomatic patients with moderate‐ or high‐risk of PC were invited to participate. Moderate risk consisted of one first‐degree and at least one second‐degree relative with PC and no PC‐associated genetic mutations. High risk consisted of >1 first‐degree relatives with PC or PC‐associated mutations (i.e. BRCA2, Lynch Syndrome, Familial Atypical Multiple Mole Melanoma Syndrome, STK11, or PALB2). All included patients had genetic counseling and a screening EUS done. Primary outcome was the detection of PC on EUS. Secondary outcomes assessed the evolution of psychological symptoms based on the Impact of Events Scale (IES) and Personal Consequences Questionnaire (PCQ) before and after the screening took place.

Results A total of 122 patients had a screening EUS performed between 2013 and 2019; 60 were male, 55.8 years was the mean age, 78 were at high risk for PC, and 25 had PC‐associated mutations. No pancreatic cancers were identified at the one‐off EUS screening. Overall, patients' IES/PCQ scores did not change after screening and feedback of no malignancy, with the exception of females (less concerned about PC after screening EUS).

Conclusions EUS did not detect any PCs in either a moderate‐ or high‐risk population as a one‐off screening method. The EUS procedure and genetic counseling improved psychological symptoms for the female subset of this population.