The Emotional Impact of Surveillance for Pancreatic Cancer

Due to its rarity a population screening program for pancreatic cancer is not possible. For this reason, considering background data on genetic predisposition and familiarity for this lethal tumor, efforts have been pushed to build up surveillance programs for subjects at high-risk of pancreatic cancer, due to familiarity and/or genetic predisposition. These programs are based on radiological examinations (such as MRI or endoultrasonography) and laboratory tests. However, little is known about the psychological burden of these programs. Only a handful of studies investigated, in various ways, how the participation in surveillance programs for pancreatic cancer may burden the psychological status, with a consequent possible impairment of the psychological wellbeing, and a higher risk of withdraw from the surveillance program itself. The aim of this study was to assess the psychological and emotional impact in high-risk individuals participating in a surveillance program for pancreatic cancer due to familiarity and/or to genetic predisposition, using specific psychological tools, such as multiple psychological questionnaires, investigating different functioning areas, administered by a clinical psychologist.