Screening per lesioni pancreatiche in soggetti asintomatici

 Frequent Detection of Pancreatic Lesions in Asymptomatic High-Risk Individuals.Canto MI, Hruban RH, Fishman EK, Kamel IR, Schulick R, Zhang Z, Topazian M, Takahashi N, Fletcher J, Petersen G, Klein AP, Axilbund J, Griffin C, Syngal S, Saltzman JR, Mortele KJ, Lee J, Tamm E, Vikram R, Bhosale P, Margolis D, Farrell J, Goggins M; American Cancer of the Pancreas Screening (CAPS) Consortium. Gastroenterology. 2012 Jan 12. [Epub ahead of print] BACKGROUND & AIMS: The risk of pancreatic cancer is increased in patients with a strong family history of pancreatic cancer or a predisposing germline mutation. Screening can detect curable, non-invasive pancreatic neoplasms, but the optimal imaging approach is not known. We determined the baseline prevalence and characteristics of pancreatic abnormalities using 3 imaging tests to screen asymptomatic, high-risk individuals (HRI). METHODS: We screened 225 asymptomatic adult HRI at 5 academic US medical centers once, using computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS). We compared results in a blinded, independent fashion.RESULTS: Ninety-two of 216 HRI (42%) were found to have at least 1 pancreatic mass (84 cystic, 3 solid) or a dilated pancreatic duct (n=5) by any of the imaging modalities. Fifty-one of the 84 HRI with a cyst (60.7%) had multiple lesions, typically small (mean 0.55 cm, range 2-39 mm), in multiple locations. The prevalence of pancreatic lesions increased with age; they were detected in 14% of subjects <50 years old, 34% of subjects 50-59 years old, and 53% of subjects 60-59 years old (P<.0001). CT, MRI, and EUS detected a pancreatic abnormality in 11%, 33.3%, and 42.6% of the HRI, respectively. Among these abnormalities, proven or suspected neoplasms were identified in 85 HRI (82 intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms [IPMN] and 3 pancreatic endocrine tumors). Three of 5 HRI who underwent pancreatic resection had high-grade dysplasia in <3 cm IPMNs and in multiple intraepithelial neoplasias.CONCLUSIONS: Screening of asymptomatic HRI frequently detects small pancreatic cysts, including curable, non-invasive high-grade neoplasms. EUS and MRI detect pancreatic lesions better than CT.leggi l’articolo