COVID-19 related pancreatic cancer surveillance disruptions amongst high-risk individuals

Bryson W Katona; Nadim Mahmud; Mohamad Dbouk; Nuzhat Ahmad; Ankit Chhoda; Beth Dudley; Umar Hayat; Richard S Kwon; Linda S Lee; Anil K Rustgi; Chinedu Ukaegbu; Lisa Vasquez; Sarah Volk; Randall E Brand; Marcia I Canto; Amitabh Chak; James J Farrell; Fay Kastrinos; Elena M Stoffel; Sapna Syngal; Michael Goggins

doi:10.1016/j.pan.2021.04.005

COVID-19 related pancreatic cancer surveillance disruptions amongst high-risk individuals

Pancreatology. 2021 Apr 20;21(6):1048-1051. doi: 10.1016/j.pan.2021.04.005. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Bryson W Katona¹, Nadim Mahmud¹, Mohamad Dbouk², Nuzhat Ahmad¹, Ankit Chhoda³, Beth Dudley⁴, Umar Hayat⁵, Richard S Kwon⁶, Linda S Lee⁷, Anil K Rustgi⁸, Chinedu Ukaegbu⁹, Lisa Vasquez⁸, Sarah Volk⁶, Randall E Brand⁴, Marcia I Canto², Amitabh Chak⁵, James J Farrell³, Fay Kastrinos⁸, Elena M Stoffel⁶, Sapna Syngal¹⁰, Michael Goggins¹¹

Affiliations

¹ Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
² The Sol Goldman Pancreatic Cancer Research Center, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, MD, USA.
³ Section of Digestive Disease, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA.
⁴ Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
⁵ Division of Gastroenterology and Liver Disease, University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH, USA.
⁶ Division of Gastroenterology, University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
⁷ Harvard Medical School, Brigham & Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
⁸ Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center, Division of Digestive and Liver Diseases, Department of Medicine, Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA.
⁹ Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA.
¹⁰ Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA; Harvard Medical School, Brigham & Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
¹¹ The Sol Goldman Pancreatic Cancer Research Center, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, MD, USA. Electronic address: mgoggins@jhmi.edu.

Abstract

Background: COVID-19 pandemic-related disruptions to EUS-based pancreatic cancer surveillance in high-risk individuals remain uncertain.

Methods: Analysis of enrolled participants in the CAPS5 Study, a prospective multicenter study of pancreatic cancer surveillance in high-risk individuals.

Results: Amongst 693 enrolled high-risk individuals under active surveillance, 108 (16%) had an EUS scheduled during the COVID-19 pandemic-related shutdown (median length of 78 days) in the spring of 2020, with 97% of these procedures being canceled. Of these canceled surveillance EUSs, 83% were rescheduled in a median of 4.1 months, however 17% were not rescheduled after 6 months follow-up. Prior history of cancer was associated with increased likelihood of rescheduling. To date no pancreatic cancer has been diagnosed among those whose surveillance was delayed.

Conclusions: COVID-19 delayed pancreatic cancer surveillance with no adverse outcomes in efficiently rescheduled individuals. However, 1 in 6 high-risk individuals had not rescheduled surveillance, indicating the need for vigilance to ensure timely surveillance rescheduling.

Keywords: COVID-19; EUS; Pancreatic cancer; Surveillance.

Abstract

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