Given the difficulty regarding pancreatic biopsy procedures, a research group led by Dr. Chatzipantelis investigates the relatively novel preoperative and bloodless technique of image-guided fine-needle aspiration (FNA), and explores its value in diagnosing pancreatic lesions.
Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS)-guided FNA cytology can provide an accurate preoperative diagnosis of solid pseudopapillary tumor (SPTP), differentiating it from other pancreatic neoplasms with different biologic behavior and treatment. The article published in the October 14 issue of the World Journal of Gastroenterology describes the success of the above mentioned technique in the diagnostic procedure of SPTP.
EUS-FNA was conducted in the Endoscopy Department (Head: Dr. Karoumpalis I, MD), and the FNA cytologic material was interpreted by two experts (Dr. Chatzipantelis P and Dr. Salla C), who provided the final cytopathologic diagnosis.
In this study, a 17-year-old woman was admitted to our hospital with complaints of an unexplained episodic pain for 2 months and a short history of hypertension. Computed tomography scan (CT-scan) revealed a mass of the pancreatic tail, and an operation was scheduled to take place within 2 days. In order to accurately diagnose this tumor in such a young woman, we decided to perform the EUS-guided FNA procedure, preoperatively. The procedures were completed the next day.