Low-risk pancreatic cystic lesions were found to be associated with a long-term risk of pancreatic cancer in a retrospective cohort study.The incidence rate of pancreatic cancer among patients with pancreatic cystic lesions was higher than that of the general population (1.89 vs 0.14 per 1,000 person-years).Over a quarter of patients were diagnosed with pancreatic cancer more than 5 years after detection of lesions, suggesting longer-term follow-up is needed to avoid missed diagnoses.
Low-risk pancreatic cystic lesions were associated with a long-term risk of pancreatic cancer, according to a retrospective cohort study.
Among over 6,000 patients with low-risk pancreatic cystic lesions, 0.6% developed pancreatic cancer, translating into an incidence rate of 1.89 (95% CI 1.29-2.49) cases per 1,000 person-years, reported Arya Haj Mirzaian, MD, MPH, of Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston, and colleagues.
This rate was higher than the previously reported general population rate of 0.14 cases per 1,000 person-years, they wrote in JAMA Network Open. "Despite the overall low incidence of pancreatic cancer, our findings suggest that patients with low-risk [pancreatic cystic lesions] may still have a 10-fold to 19-fold higher risk of pancreatic cancer compared with the general population."
