Surgical Second Opinion for Pancreatic Cancer Patients

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39297812/ An AHRQ-funded study in Journal of the American College of Surgeons found that one in seven patients diagnosed with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma sought a second surgical opinion. Researchers analyzed 116,072 records of Medicare beneficiaries diagnosed with this pancreatic disease between 2013 and 2020 and found that patients who sought a second opinion were six times as likely to have surgery as those who consulted with only one surgeon. However, outcomes were generally similar for both groups. According to the authors, these findings indicate a need for further research to better understand how factors like personal motivations, referrals, disease characteristics and treatment options work alongside the number of surgical opinions to influence patients’ decisions regarding surgery for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, a condition diagnosed in 64,050 Americans in 2023.