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Types of Pancreatic Cancer Screening
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Risk Management & Treatment > Screening and Risk Reduction > By Cancer Type > Pancreatic > Types of Pancreatic Cancer Screening

Overview Types of Pancreatic Cancer Screening Pancreatic Cancer Screening Guidelines
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Types of Pancreatic Cancer Screening

There are two main types of screening used to try to find pancreatic cancer at an earlier and treatable .

  • Contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP) is a special type of imaging that looks closely at the pancreas, liver, gallbladder, bile duct and pancreatic duct to find abnormalities such as cancer. People undergoing MRCP must fast for four hours before the procedure. An injection of contrast agent—called gadolinium—is given before the test in order to help radiologists to find abnormalities more easily.
  • Endoscopic  (EUS) involves passing a tiny scope with an attached probe down the esophagus to the stomach. This allows doctors to look closely at the pancreas. EUS is performed as an outpatient procedure under anesthesia. 

Graphic of endoscopic <button x-data class='glossary-tip tt-ultrasound' x-tooltip='<p>Also known as a sonogram, ultrasound is a device that&nbsp;uses sound to see images of internal organs and&nbsp;look for abnormalities in the body. Ultrasounds are sometimes used along with other methods to diagnose breast, ovarian, and pancreatic, and prostate cancers. Ultrasounds may also be used to diagnose pregnancy or conditions such as heart disease.</p> ' >ultrasound</button> procedure
Endoscopic procedure to look for pancreatic tumors

Find Experts
Find Experts

  • The Collaborative Group o the Americas on Inherited Gastrointestinal Cancer (CGA-IGC) curates an updated list of hospitals and programs with expertise in pancreatic cancer screening for high-risk people. 
  • The PROCEDE Consortium is a collaboration of experts working to improve the detection and prevention of hereditary pancreatic cancer.

Register for the FORCE Message Boards to get referrals from other members. Once you register, you can post on the Find a Specialist board to connect with others who share your situation. 

Open Clinical Trials
Open Clinical Trials

The following studies are looking at risk management for pancreatic cancer:

  • NCT04970056: Pancreatic Cancer Early Detection for People at High Risk (PRECEDE). The study will collect clinical information, family history and samples (blood, saliva or cheek swab) from people and families at risk for pancreatic cancer.
  • NCT02000089: Pancreatic Cancer Screening Study (CAPS5). The CAPS5 study is looking at screening for early cancer in people with an elevated lifetime risk of developing pancreatic cancer who are undergoing screening with endoscopic , MRCP or . 
  • NCT03250078: A Pancreatic Cancer Screening Study in Hereditary High-Risk Individuals. The main goal of this study is to screen and detect pancreatic cancer and precursor lesions in individuals with a strong family history or genetic predisposition to pancreatic cancer. Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Magnetic Cholangiopancreatography (MRI/MRCP) will be utilized to screen for pancreatic cancer or precursor lesions.
  • NCT02478892: Preliminary Evaluation of Screening for Pancreatic Cancer in Patients With Inherited Genetic Risk. This , observational study is evaluating the utility of endoscopic or for the identification of preneoplastic and neoplastic pancreatic lesions in patients at high risk for pancreatic cancer, specifically those with BRCA1/2, or mutations.
  • NCT03568630: Blood Markers of Early Pancreas Cancer. Identifying biomarkers of early pancreatic ductal () could facilitate screening for individuals with higher-than-average risk, expedite the diagnosis in individuals with symptoms and substantially improve an individual's chance of surviving the disease.
  • NCT03250078: A Pancreatic Cancer Screening Study in Hereditary High-Risk Individuals. The goal of this study is to screen for pancreatic cancer in individuals with a strong family history or genetic risk using Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Magnetic Cholangiopancreatography (MRI/MRCP).

Other clinical trials for pancreatic cancer screening and prevention may be found here.

Last updated February 14, 2024