Screening of Patients at Risk for Familial Pancreatic Cancer: What Is Beneficial?

Family history is a significant risk factor for developing pancreatic cancer and this hereditary risk can be secondary to familial cancer predisposition syndromes, hereditary pancreatitis, or familial pancreatic cancer. Certain high-risk individuals are recommended to undergo screening for pancreatic cancer with endoscopic ultrasound or MRI/magnetic resonance retrograde cholangiopancreatography because of the potential to identify and curatively resect precursor lesions. The management of suspicious lesions identified on screening high-risk individuals is also discussed.