Monitoring people preventive with an increased risk of pancreatic cancer

Project summary

Pancreatic cancer has a bad track record: only 7 out of 100 patients is still alive 5 years after diagnosis. Most people who are diagnosed are already in a late stage of cancer development. This project focuses on prevention: by screening groups at risk one could detect the cancer at a far earlier stage, when operations and the chance for recovery are still high. The scientists develop a computer model, based on data of 800 patients, that could make different screening models for the two different groups with an increased risk of developing pancreatic cancer (people with an inherited risk of pancreatic cancer and people with a cyst in the pancreas).

Developing an optimized screening model for different groups at risk one could not only detect the pancreatic cancer at a staged during which recovery is still possible, but one could also avoid unnecessary check-ups in the hospital, that also causes unnecessary pressure and stress to patients/individuals at risk.