Prodromal affective symptoms and pancreatic cancer: A scoping review

Abstract

Background: Depression and anxiety can present as prodromal symptoms of pancreatic cancer. There is little evidence, however, supporting this hypothesis. Objective: To describe the available scientific evidence regarding depression and anxiety as prodromal symptoms of pancreatic cancer. Material and methods: Scoping review using the PRISMA extension for reporting scoping reviews, and search strategies adapted to PubMed and Scopus. Results: We included a total of 16 publications in English and Spanish: retrospective cohort studies (n = 7), case reports (n = 4), prospective cohort studies (n = 2), cases series (n = 2), and a case control study (n = 1). Conclusion: Depression and anxiety in patients without medical history of psychiatric pathology and risk factors for developing pancreatic cancer could represent early markers for diagnosis of this neoplasia. It is necessary to conduct more robust observational studies to determine the impact of this clinical approach.