Role of routine check-up in the prognosis of patients with pancreatic cancer: A puzzling phenomenon

The high coverage of annual routine health check-up in China is a unique phenomenon throughout the world. However, its clinical value is controversial. In this cohort study, we chose pancreatic cancer as a disease model to explore the role of routine check-up in the prognosis of patients with pancreatic cancer. Data from 157 patients who were diagnosed with pancreatic cancer between January 2010 and April 2014 were collected. Patients were divided into two groups depending on how their disease was detected. Group A (n = 85): Patients were diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in clinic visits. Group B (n = 72): Patients were diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in routine check-ups. We compared their prognosis. The tumor stage in group B was earlier than that in group A. The 1-year survival rate in group B was significantly higher than that in group A (74.6% vs. 42.4%, P < 0.001), while the 3- and 5-year survival rates of the two groups showed no significant difference (P > 0.05). The difference of overall survival time between the two groups was not significant (22.0 vs. 9.0 months, P = 0.078). The stage of pancreatic cancer diagnosed in routine check-ups was earlier and therefore, the intervention was earlier which improved short-term survival rate. However, early intervention did not improve overall survival in the long-term.