Screening for Pancreatic Cancer

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma is the third leading cause of cancer death in the United States, accounting for approximately 45 750 deaths per year, 1 and is projected to become the second leading cause of cancer death by 2020. Only 10% of patients diagnosed with pancreatic cancer undergo potentially curative surgery, 3 and 5-year survival across all stages is approximately 9%. 1 Early diagnosis and detection of precursor lesions is therefore an attractive approach to decrease pancreatic cancer morbidity and mortality.