Screening for pancreatic cancer in familial high-risk individuals: A systematic review

HRI = High Risk Individuals


open access

..... We chose familial HRIs as research subjects. In this population, there are also individuals with high risks for other diseases. Peutz-Jeghers syndrome with STK11/LKB1 gene mutation[³⁶], hereditary pancreatitis with PRSS1 gene[^37,38] or SPINK1 gene mutation[³⁹], familial atypical multiple mole melanoma syndrome with CDKN2A or p16 gene mutations[⁴⁰], hereditary breast ovarian cancer syndrome with BRCA2 and BRCA1 gene mutations[^41,42], and Lynch syndrome with mismatch repair genes[⁴³] are found in high risk populations, who should also receive attention. Nevertheless, these are not completely independent. Familial HRIs may also have gene mutations. The PRSS1 gene mutation is the main influencing factor in hereditary pancreatitis, an autosomal dominant disease. BRCA2 is one of the most common mutations, and was as high as 17% in one study[⁴⁴]. Future studies on HRIs with gene mutations should be carried out to determine if they have a higher risk than HRIs without gene mutations. In addition, because of the complex nature of the pedigrees in pancreatic cancer, Wang et al[⁴⁵] designed a tool known as PancPRO to identify familial HRIs, which was used for selecting and screening......
 

Peer-review

This is a good systematic review in which the authors analyzed the benefits and harms of pancreatic cancer screening in familial high-risk individuals. The results are interesting, and suggest that pancreatic cancer screening in familial HRIs can improve detection rate and prolong lifetime. In addition, it can influence psychological functions and increase the economic burden.

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