Date
2024
Program
Master of Science
Subject
Diagnostic and preventive medicine. Oncology and health sciences. Public health.
Abstract
Background: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is the most commonly occurring pancreatic cancer, comprising 90% of the cases. The prognosis for the disease remains poor due to a lack of effective screening programs, specifically in Canada. Methods: A scoping search was conducted using Google Scholar and PubMed. Keywords were used to guide the search and filter the results based on relevance. Results: Our search resulted in a total of 891 articles, of which 72 were included in the final review, and key findings were extracted and synthesized. Findings included many factors related to existing screening programs globally, different components of successful screening programs, and barriers that exist to implementing these programs specifically in Canada. Discussion: This review is limited by the exclusion criteria, such as studies conducted before 2010, those written in languages other than English, and those that were not accessible through the Western University database. Conclusion: Screening programs for PDAC are needed in Canada in order to improve outcomes for patients suffering from the disease. Further research is needed to best create these programs and effectively diagnose early-stage PDAC.
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank Dr. H. Noyan, Dr. N. Campbell, and the IMS team for their ongoing support.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License