Pancreatic

Early Diagnosis of Pancreatic Cancer

Pancreatic cancer is the 10th most common cancer in the UK. It is difficult to detect, is often diagnosed at an advanced stage, and survival rates are extremely poor.

One in four people diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in England survive their disease for one year or more, with emergency presentation the most common route to diagnosis. (Cancer Research UK, 2013-2017)

Across our alliance footprint, 27.5% of people diagnosed with pancreatic cancer survive the disease for one year or more and just one-quarter of pancreatic cancers are diagnosed at stage 1 or 2. Most areas across the alliance have a higher incidence per 100,000 population than the England average and emergency presentation accounts for almost one in four diagnoses of pancreatic cancer. (National Cancer Registration and Analysis Service (NCRAS), 2018)

The difficulty is pancreatic cancer can be very hard to diagnose as symptoms are vague, ambiguous and can be caused by other conditions. Early diagnosis, however, is critical to improving outcomes and survival, and understanding the risk factors and symptoms is key.

To support healthcare professionals in early diagnosis of pancreatic cancer, we have created a Pancreatic Cancer Toolkit.

Healthcare professionals can now refer people with a family history of pancreatic cancer to the European Registry of Hereditary Pancreatic Diseases (EUROPAC) for annual surveillance.

Around 10% of pancreatic cancers are caused by inherited risk factors. These can occur in families with a history of either pancreatic cancer or hereditary pancreatitis or in people who carry an at-risk genetic mutation.

NICE guidance (NG85) recommends pancreatic cancer surveillance for people with inherited high risk factors.

EUROPAC is a registry for families with histories of familial pancreatic cancer and hereditary pancreatitis. The EUROPAC study also runs surveillance programmes for people with high-risk factors.

Meet Kayleigh Jevons our region’s EUROPAC surveillance navigator.

Kayleigh is the first point of contact for study participants and healthcare professionals, providing information about EUROPAC, processing referrals to registration, and providing support for navigating surveillance appointments.

Kayleigh can be contacted for queries and referrals as below:
Kayleigh.Jevons2@liverpoolft.nhs.uk
Telephone: 0151 794 0711

EUROPAC Leaflet

Participant Information Sheet: The EUROPAC Registry of Familial Pancreatic Cancer

EUROPAC Referral Sheet

Participant Information Sheet: The EUROPAC Study of Inherited Causes of Pancreatitis

EUROPAC Referral Form Rich Text Format

EUROPAC Referral Form EMIS Version

EUROPAC Health Care Professional Information Sheet

Self -referral to Europac

The EUROPAC team welcomes self-referrals from individuals concerned about family history.

Individuals can get in touch with EUROPAC through the ‘contact us’ section of the EUROPAC website, emailing europac@liv.ac.uk or
calling 0151 795 1256.

Pancreatic

Early Diagnosis of Pancreatic Cancer

Self -referral to Europac

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Pancreatic

Early Diagnosis of Pancreatic Cancer

Self -referral to Europac

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