The pancreas is an organ in the abdomen that makes hormones and enzymes that are important in digestion. Pancreatic cysts are small, fluid-filled sacs within the pancreas that are most often benign (non-cancerous), but a very small proportion of cysts have the potential to be malignant (cancerous). Pancreatic cysts are often found during testing or imaging performed for something unrelated.
There are many different kinds of pancreatic cysts, and patients with benign cysts can avoid surgical intervention, preventing unnecessary risks that accompany any surgery.
Standard tests for diagnosis of pancreatic cyst include imaging, such as endoscopy, cytology, CEA, glucose, and amylase (lab) testing of pancreatic cyst fluid. These tests often do not provide a definitive information on cyst type making diagnosis difficult. It has recently been discovered that different types of pancreatic cysts carry different genetic profiles, which can only be seen by analyzing pancreatic cyst fluid genomic material, such as DNA and RNA.
PancreaSeq® test can detect these unique genetic profiles using small amount of pancreatic cyst fluid. Results from the PancreaSeq test can help your physician to diagnose your cyst and enable optimal management.
If you have been diagnosed with a pancreatic cyst, talk to your doctor about the PancreaSeq test.
PancreaSeq is a product of the Molecular & Genomic Pathology Laboratory at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.