The value of endoscopic ultrasonography in predicting resectability and margins of resection for periampullary tumors.

Cure of pancreatic head and other periampullary neoplasms continues to be infrequent and is unattainable unless clear surgical margins are achieved during Whipple pancreaticoduodenectomy. Endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS) is a relatively recent gastrointestinal tumor imaging modality and may be superior to other techniques used in locoregional staging. We hypothesized that EUS can accurately predict not only tumor resectability, but also negative resection margins with Whipple resection.

Evolution of fine needle aspiration cytology in the accurate diagnosis of pancreatic neoplasms.

In the era of endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration (EUS-FNA), a minimally invasive, safe, and accurate cytologic examination of a variety of intra-abdominal neoplasms has become possible. To assess the efficacy of EUS-FNA for diagnosis of primary pancreatic tumors, a 10-year retrospective review of a consecutive series of patients diagnosed between 1996 and 2005 was undertaken. Comparisons were made between early (1996-2000) and late (2001-2005) periods regarding diagnostic modalities used and the concordance of EUS-FNA cytology with macroscopic tissue histology.