Screening and early detection of pancreatic cancer in high risk population.

Pancreatic cancer is a serious growing health issue in developed countries. For patients diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, the five year survival rate is below 5%. One major important reason leads to the poor survival rate is lack of early detection of pancreatic cancer. Over 80% of the patients are diagnosed in advanced disease stages. Screening for pancreatic cancer is a desirable option for high risk individuals to allow early detection and treatment of curable pancreatic neoplasms at a pre-invasive stage. This article highlights the need, endpoint, population, method, diagnostic yield, and the problems of current screening programs.