Family History of Pancreas Cancer

This study will test a remote approach to help people who may be at higher risk for pancreatic cancer learn about and decide whether to get genetic testing and a blood test that looks for signs of several cancers (MCED testing). The study is focused on Black, Latino/a, and Medicaid-enrolled individuals who may have had less access to cancer genetics and early detection services. About 80 participants, who reside in Massachusetts, will be assigned by chance to receive either online education alone or online education plus a phone call with a trained educator from the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (PanCAN). After the education, participants can choose whether or not to have genetic testing and/or MCED testing. The main goal is to learn whether this approach is practical to carry out, acceptable to participants, and delivered as planned. Participants will complete 3 surveys during study participation.

The purpose of this study is to establish a registry of patients with pancreatic diseases. Patients included in the registry may include those with: pancreatic cancer, precancerous lesions of the pancreas, inflammatory lesions of the pancreas, cystic lesions of the pancreas, and patients at high-risk of pancreatic cancer such as those with a family history of pancreatic cancer or with a family history of a syndrome known to be associated with pancreatic cancer. Pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of death from cancer in the United States. However, little is known about the development of pancreatic cancer and pancreatic diseases in individuals with the above conditions. Knowledge of how family history, environmental exposures, and inflammatory lesion of the pancreas contribute to the development of pancreatic cancer and pancreatic diseases is essential. You may qualify to take part in this research study because you have inflammation in the pancreas, a pancreatic cyst, pre-cancerous lesions of the pancreas, pancreatic cancer, a family history of pancreatic cancer, or a family history of a syndrome known to be associated with pancreatic cancer. We will also be collecting a blood sample from all participants for DNA isolation. Sometimes we are born with genes or DNA that give us an increased or decreased chance of developing an illness later in life. Genetic material will be isolated from your blood for further study. You may also choose to provide additional blood samples for serum and plasma extraction. Serum and plasma are components of the blood which can be used to measure indicators of disease in the blood, called biomarkers,for pancreatic diseases. Clinical data and biological specimens contained in this study may be used for a wide variety of future related studies to the cause, diagnosis, outcome and treatment of pancreatic cancer. Funds for conducting this research are provided by Mount Sinai.