Researchers tested the cysts’ fluid from 130 patients who had surgery to remove cysts at The Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore and 16 other hospitals in the United States and other countries.
Gastroenterology will publish the findings in the November issue.
Here are five points:
1. To test the fluid, researchers used genetic-based markers in combination with a mathematical model that identifies certain types of pancreatic cysts and their potential for malignancy.
2. In the study, researchers identified 12 benign cysts with 98 percent specificity and 100 percent sensitivity. Researchers identified 10 cysts as solid-pseudopapillary neoplasm. The cysts had 89 percent sensitivity and 92 percent specificity.
3. Researchers identified 12 mucinous cystic neoplasms with 97 percept specificity and 90 percent sensitivity, as well as 96 intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms with 94 percent sensitivity and 84 percent specificity.
4. Researchers found genetic changes in 21 of the samples before surgery and 20 of the surgically removed cyst specimens.
5. “Our study shows that our expanded panel of genetic markers, combined with clinical acumen, can accurately differentiate between types of pancreatic cysts and identify cysts that are safe to watch over time and cysts that need to be removed,” says Ralph Hruban, MD, Baxley professor in pathology and director of the pathology department for the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
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