Jefferson Department of Surgery Announces New Pancreas Tumor Registry
JPTR to Study Familial, Environmental and Occupational Links to Pancreatic Cancer
Charles
J. Yeo, M.D., Samuel D. Gross Professor and Chair, Department of
Surgery at Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University,
announces the establishment of the new Jefferson Pancreas Tumor
Registry (JPTR).
“The
purpose of the registry is to further study whether pancreatic cancer
occurs more frequently in families with a history of the disease,” said
Dr. Yeo, who is the principal investigator of JPTR. “It will also be
used to determine the environmental and occupational risk factors to
which pancreatic cancer patients have been exposed.”
The
JPTR – modeled after the National Familial Pancreas Tumor Registry – is
a longitudinal study in which participants may engage in long-term
follow-up and receive information regarding scientific and
epidemiological breakthroughs in pancreatic cancer. Participants are
asked to complete a detailed questionnaire and may be asked to submit a
blood sample and/or cheek swab. The questionnaires are designed to
elicit the family health history of a patient with pancreatic cancer or
a non-affected family member, and to document exposure to occupational
and environmental factors, such as residential radon, asbestos and
second-hand tobacco smoke.
Research
has shown that certain rare genetic conditions are associated with an
increased risk of pancreatic cancer, including familial breast-ovarian
cancer, familial melanoma, familial colon cancer, hereditary
pancreatitis and Peutz-Jegher’s syndrome (a rare hereditary condition
that results in gastrointestinal polyps). “While we have not
identified a causative gene yet to allow predictive testing for
pancreatic cancer, we can offer risk assessments and surveillance via
imaging, blood tests and endoscopic ultrasound for patients with a
strong family history of pancreatic cancer,” added Dr. Yeo.
Such
high risk patients may be referred to a Jefferson gastroenterologist to
discuss the pros and cons of invasive surveillance. The goal is to
diagnose pancreatic cancer earlier, when more treatment options are
available. For persons who do develop pancreatic cancer, Jefferson
physicians may use the results of genetic testing to select the most
effective therapy. Targeted therapy for pancreatic cancer is becoming
a reality, in part due to recent discoveries made in the laboratory of
Jonathan Brody, Ph.D., assistant professor, Department of Surgery at
Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University, where
molecular studies have clearly indicated survival advantages with the
use of targeted chemotherapy.
For more information about the Jefferson Pancreas Tumor Registry (JPTR), please visit www.jeffersonhospital.org/pancreasregistry.
Media Only Contact:
Ed Federico
Thomas Jefferson University Hospital
Phone: (215) 955-6300
Published: 10/29/2008