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Background: The surveillance of subjects at risk of pancreatic cancer is restricted to clinical research; the incidence of familial pancreatic cancer needs to be better established. Thus, we aimed to evaluate the frequency of familial pancreatic cancer in a population of hospitalized patients with pancreatic cancer.Methods: A retrospective study based on the hospital charts of patients discharged with a diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. One hundred and eighty-seven patients or their relatives were called for a phone interview.Results: There were 97 males (51.9 %) and 90 (48.1 %) females. The overall mean ± SD age was 67.3 ± 11.8 years; the age of males was similar to that of females (P = 0140). The mean size of the tumors found was 36.3 ± 17.4 mm (range of 5-110 mm); it was related to gender but was not related to the site of the tumor or the age of the patient. Regarding genetic diseases, three females (1.6 %) had familial adenomatous polyposis; three patients (1 male and two females) (1.6 %) had at least one relative with pancreatic cancer whereas only one 80-year old male patient (0.5 %) had two relatives affected by pancreatic cancer (the mother had died at the 65 years of age and the brother had died at 75 years of age).Conclusions: The frequency of familial pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma is small, but its importance, from the point of view of early diagnosis, is not negligible and patients with a risk of familial cancer merit an appropriate clinical follow-up. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Surgical resection is the only curative treatment for pancreatic and periampullary cancer, but many patients undergo unnecessary laparotomy because tumours can be understaged by computerised tomography (CT). A recent Cochrane review found diagnostic laparoscopy can decrease unnecessary laparotomy. We compared the cost-effectiveness of diagnostic laparoscopy prior to laparotomy versus direct laparotomy in patients with pancreatic and periampullary cancer with resectable disease based on CT scanning. Method: Model based cost-utility analysis estimating mean costs and quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) per patient from the perspective of the UK National Health Service. A decision tree model was constructed using probabilities, outcomes and cost data from published sources. One-way and probabilistic sensitivity analyses were undertaken. Results: When laparotomy following diagnostic laparoscopy occurred in a subsequent admission, diagnostic laparoscopy incurred similar mean costs per patient to direct laparotomy (£7470 versus £7480); diagnostic laparoscopy costs (£995) were offset by avoiding unnecessary laparotomy costs. Diagnostic laparoscopy produced significantly more mean QALYs per patient than direct laparotomy (0.346 versus 0.337). Results were sensitive to the accuracy of diagnostic laparoscopy and the probability that disease was unresectable. Diagnostic laparoscopy had 63 to 66% probability of being cost-effective at a maximum willingness to pay for a QALY of £20 000 to £30 000. When laparotomy was undertaken in the same admission as diagnostic laparoscopy the mean cost per patient of diagnostic laparoscopy increased to £8224. Conclusions: Diagnostic laparoscopy prior to laparotomy in patients with CT-resectable cancer appears to be cost-effective in pancreatic cancer (but not in periampullary cancer), when laparotomy following diagnostic laparoscopy occurs in a subsequent admission. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]