Intraductal Papillary Mucinous Neoplasm (IPMN) - Australian Pancreatic Cyst Registry (MAPS Registry)

Intraductal Papillary Mucinous Neoplasms (IPMN) are known precancerous lesions occurring in the pancreas and can change over time to become pancreatic cancer. Pancreatic cancer is a rapidly progressing cancer that exhibits an extremely poor prognosis, with most cases diagnosed at an advanced stage.

Surgery remains the most effective treatment for early pancreatic cancer, and currently the only potential for cure. Unfortunately, many patients present with advanced disease and are not suitable for surgical treatment. Therefore, it is vital to detect these cancers early. The natural history of these lesions is not well explored and anecdotally only a small proportion of these will go on to develop pancreatic cancer.

While there have been rapid advances in our understanding of the prevalence of pancreatic cancer at diagnosis and risk of recurrence following resection, there are still considerable gaps in our knowledge of the progression of these neoplasms.

This led us to set up a database following patients diagnosed with IPMN which will allow us to identify risk factors that may lead to the development of pancreatic cancer in order to allow early detection, investigation and management. For patients without risk factors and are unlikely to develop pancreatic cancer from IPMNs, minimizing the need for surveillance may also reduce anxiety, medical imaging costs and subsequent overtreatment.

Aim:

• To delineate the progression of recently diagnosed pancreatic malignancy by establishing a statewide prospective database of patients diagnosed with pancreatic IPMN in Victoria

• To identify potential risk factors, if any that increase risk of malignancy within the IPMNs

• To provide information to guide and rationalise surveillance protocols for patients with IPMN