Pancreatic Cancer Screening of High-Risk Individuals Leads to Early-Stage Diagnosis

Pancreatic cancer screening is recommended for high-risk individuals to reduce mortality through early detection. To further evaluate the effectiveness of this approach, investigators conducted the prospective, multicenter, Cancer of Pancreas Screening-5 (CAPS5) study, which employed imaging surveillance (MRI and endoscopic ultrasound) from 2014–2021 for 1461 individuals (mean age, 60; 65% women) at high risk for developing pancreatic cancer. Individuals were considered high risk if they had a hereditary syndrome, germline variant, or at least one first- and second-degree relative with pancreatic cancer.

Half of the cohort (49%) had a pathogenic germline variant, including 23% with BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation, 6% with ATM mutation, 4% with Lynch…