Post EUS pancreatic cancer does it occur and what is the timeframe: the PEPC study

Abstract

Introduction The concept of post endoscopy cancer (PEC) is well established. There are limited studies on post-endoscopic ultrasound pancreatic cancer (PEPC). A recent population level study using hospital episode statistics (HES) from England reported a PEPC rate of 6.5%. In the HES study, in keeping with established PEC methodology, pancreatic cancer (PC) diagnosed within 6 months of EUS was regarded as associated with the index EUS. The timeframe used for PEPC was 6–18 months in recognition of the aggressive nature of the disease. However, it may not be appropriate to associate all PC diagnosis within 6 months with the index EUS. Further detailed studies at unit level are required to delineate the problem and provide a categorisation framework. The aim of this study was to determine the incidence of PEPC in a regional PC centre and time to PEPC diagnosis within 18 months of a non-diagnostic index EUS.