Pancreatic cysts are found incidentally on 15-50% of CT and MRIs for all indications and their prevalence is increasing. Many of these cysts may be precursors to pancreatic cancer, and thus pose a substantial risk, however, the vast majority are benign. Increased detection of pancreatic cysts provides an opportunity to diagnose pancreatic malignancy at an early, curable stage yet also increases the potential to over-treat clinically insignificant lesions. This presents a clinical challenge to prevent unnecessary resection of indolent disease, with associated risks of infections, bleeding, diabetes, and costly disability. Unfortunately, there is little information on the epidemiology and natural history of pancreatic cysts to help guide management.
The inclusion criteria for this study are intentionally broad. Eligible patients for prospective enrollment will include
Adults ≥ 30 years of age
Have a radiographic or endoscopic diagnosis of at least one pancreatic cysts regardless of treatment status,
No history of pancreatic cancer,
Patients who don't speak English,
Don't have access to a computer or mobile device; or
Patients who have a cancer diagnosis.
The majority of patients in this study will be over the age of 60 years old, due to the natural age distribution of pancreatic cysts. There will be an approximately even distribution of males and females.
Other
Prospective
Survey
Other interventionThere are no study-specific interventions, as this is a prospective registry. However, patients will be asked to complete approximately 1-2 hours worth of surveys on things such as demographics, medical and surgical history, and pancreatic cyst-specific questionnaires.
Cancer
While not the primary outcome measure, the development of cancer from a pancreatic cyst is a critically important study endpoint, which the investigators do not expect to be frequent occurrence.
Indolency
If a patient with a pancreatic cyst experiences no or minimal change in size, and no development of worrisome or high-risk stigmata (Tanaka 2017), this will be considered to be an indolent lesion. Most patients will fall under this category.
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