Scientific Reports (Mar 2022)

Clinical features and prognostic impact of asymptomatic pancreatic cancer

  • Tetsuya Takikawa,
  • Kazuhiro Kikuta,
  • Shin Hamada,
  • Kiyoshi Kume,
  • Shin Miura,
  • Naoki Yoshida,
  • Yu Tanaka,
  • Ryotaro Matsumoto,
  • Mio Ikeda,
  • Fumiya Kataoka,
  • Akira Sasaki,
  • Kei Nakagawa,
  • Michiaki Unno,
  • Atsushi Masamune

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-08083-6
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 12, no. 1
pp. 1 – 11

Abstract

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Abstract Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is highly lethal, and early diagnosis is challenging. Because patients who present with symptoms generally have advanced-stage diseases, analysis of asymptomatic PDAC provides invaluable information for developing strategies for early diagnosis. Here, we reviewed 577 patients with PDAC (372 diagnosed with symptoms [symptomatic group] and 205 without symptoms [asymptomatic group]) diagnosed at our institute. Among the 205 asymptomatic PDAC patients, 109 were detected during follow-up/work-up for other diseases, 61 because of new-onset or exacerbation of diabetes mellitus, and 35 in a medical check-up. Asymptomatic PDAC is characterized by smaller tumor size, earlier disease stage, and higher resectability than those of symptomatic PDAC. In 22.7% of asymptomatic cases, indirect findings, e.g., dilatation of the main pancreatic duct, triggered PDAC detection. Although pancreatic tumors were less frequently detected, overall abnormality detection rates on imaging studies were nearly 100% in asymptomatic PDAC. Asymptomatic PDAC had a better prognosis (median survival time, 881 days) than symptomatic PDAC (342 days, P < 0.001). In conclusion, diagnosis of PDAC in the asymptomatic stage is associated with early diagnosis and a better prognosis. Incidental detection of abnormal findings during the follow-up/work-up for other diseases provides important opportunities for early diagnosis of asymptomatic PDAC.