5 Reasons Pancreatic Cysts Demand More Than Passive Surveillance
Pancreatic cysts are commonly identified incidentally on CT and MRI scans performed for unrelated conditions. Yet they are rarely tracked, leading to missed opportunities for intervention before disease progresses. See why moving from incidental finding to clinical action is critical for one of the worst prognoses in oncology.
- 40M MRIs performed in the U.S. every year
- 20% of of MRIs show pancreatic cysts
- 53% of patients do not receive appropriate follow-up care
Incidental cyst findings are increasingly common
Advances in imaging have dramatically increased the detection of pancreatic cysts across CT and MRI exams. Many of these findings occur outside pancreatic-specific imaging workflows, creating challenges for surveillance.
Key Clinical Considerations:
- Pancreatic cysts are frequently discovered incidentally
- Malignancy risk varies across cyst types and patient profiles
- Mucinous types of cysts are the most common identifiable precusor
- Pancreatic cysts are modifiable clinical signals
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Longitudinal surveillance requires system infrastructure
Managing pancreatic cyst patients over time requires more than documentation. Without centralized identification, tracking, and follow-up workflows, patients can be difficult to monitor consistently across years of surveillance.
Operational Challenges:
- Findings documented in radiology reports without structured follow-up workflows
- Patients expected to self-navigate follow-up
- Long surveillance timelines require consistent monitoring
- Limited enterprise visibility into patient status and care gaps
A scalable approach to pancreatic cyst surveillance
The use of AI to scale pancreatic cyst detection and surveillance can ensure consistent identification, monitoring, and follow-up over time. Modernizing surveillance effort with technology can help bend the curve for pancreatic cancer mortality.
Pillars for Progress:
- Identify patients who require pancreatic cyst surveillance
- Standardize surveillance pathways and clinical protocols
- Monitor patients longitudinally across years of surveillance
- Scale surveillance programs across the enterprise