[Endosonography in benign and malignant diseases of the anorectum].

Endosonography in benign and malignant diseases of the anorectum Sonographic and endosonographic examinations of the rectum and anal canal have the advantage over other imaging techniques of a very high resolution of detail, so that in benign and malignant diseases decisive information can be obtained for further treatment planning. The ultrasound examinations can be performed quickly, but require correspondingly good knowledge and experience in anatomy, pathology and pathological dysfunctions when performing and interpreting them.

[Early detection of pancreatic cancer - The role of endoscopic and transabdominal ultrasound].

Pancreatic neoplasms are less common tumors and have a poor prognosis when advanced. Early diagnosis would be beneficial for survival, but screening of the whole population cannot be justified with a satisfying benefit-effort correlation. Subgroups of patients with a higher than average risk are those with germ-like mutations, familial cancers risks, and mucinous cystadenomas that would benefit from surveillance programs.

Molecular genetic analysis of surveillance biopsy samples from Barrett's mucosa--significance of sampling.

Our aim was to determine the spectrum and accumulation of mutations in surveillance biopsies from Barrett's mucosa of individual patients during follow-up. We performed loss of heterozygosity (LOH) analysis of six recently described tumor suppressor genes relevant for the carcinogenesis of Barrett's adenocarcinoma from laser-microdissected, paraffin-embedded biopsy samples of Barrett's mucosa without or with low-grade dysplastic change. 118 biopsy samples from 26 patients were taken during surveillance programs in time intervals ranging between 6 and 51 months.