In the early years of my GI fellowship, a healthy 40-year-old man came to my clinic and announced that he was going to die of pancreatic cancer. His brothers, father and uncles had all died of the disease; he felt his fate was inescapable. I asked whether his family members had seen doctors or had any tests. His answer was yes to both. Even so, doctors could not diagnose the pancreatic cancer at early stages. CT scans were always negative. I thought to myself, in order to help this patient—CT scans may not be reliable for early detection. Perhaps other methods of imaging the pancreas might be of more benefit. This patient opened a door that led to a 30-year journey of trying to detect pancreatic cancer at earlier stages when it is curable.

在我从事胃肠道研究的初期，一位健康的 40 岁男性来到我的诊所，并宣布他将死于胰腺癌。他的兄弟、父亲和叔叔都死于这种疾病；他觉得自己的命运是不可避免的。我问他的家人是否看过医生或做过任何检查。他的回答都是肯定的。即便如此，医生仍无法在早期诊断出胰腺癌。CT 扫描始终呈阴性。我心想，为了帮助这个病人——CT扫描对于早期发现来说可能并不可靠。也许其他胰腺成像方法可能更有益。这位患者打开了一扇门，开启了长达 30 年的尝试在胰腺癌可治愈的早期阶段检测出来的旅程。