The First Line of Defense: Primary Care Clinicians and Early Detection of Pancreatic Cancer

In the first episode of the The First Line of Defense podcast, we discuss early detection of pancreatic cancer in primary care. While the initial presentation of pancreatic cancer can be vague and non-specific, if you’re suspicious, Primary Care Clinicians should consider imaging, such as an abdominal and pelvic CT scan for further evaluation.

In the second episode of the The First Line of Defense podcast, we discuss genetic insights and understanding pancreatic cancer risk in primary care. While there are many considerations a Primary Care Clinician has to make when diagnosing pancreatic cancer, family histories are an important piece of this complex puzzle.

Primary Care Clinicians have an important role to play, and it’s not easy. There is hope for the future of early detection with biomarkers and A-I. Not only is early detection increasingly more feasible, it makes a significant difference in survival.

In this special bonus episode of The First Line of Defense podcast, Chris Sander, a computational biologist based at the Dana-Farber Cancer Center and Harvard Medical School, explains how his research on A-I and machine learning are being used to help with early cancer detection. Even with the multiple challenges inherent in AI, this study represents a much needed and valuable step in earlier cancer detection efforts.