Endoscopic Ultrasound Through-The-Needle Biopsy of Pancreatic Cysts: Toward Procedure Standardization

Abstract

Background and Aims: EUS-guided through-the-needle microforceps biopsy (EUS-TTNB) was introduced as a new diagnostic tool to establish pancreatic cyst histotype and help to better risk stratify the patients. The aim of this study was to describe the technical success, diagnostic yield and adverse events of through-the-needle biopsy and discuss the technique variations, focusing on future procedure standardization. Methods: We performed a prospective single-center study including patients with presumed mucinous cysts harboring worrisome features or indeterminate cyst type on imaging, submitted to EUS-TTNB using Moray® microforceps between March 2018 and September 2021. Specimens were processed as a cell-block. Results: We included 40 patients. Technical success was 97.5%. The diagnostic yield was 72.5% for TTNB whereas for cyst fluid cytology/analysis it was 27.5%. Moreover, without TTNB 5 mucinous lesions would not have been diagnosed. TTNB had a sensitivity of 76% and a specificity of 91%, while FNA cytology had a sensitivity and specificity of 35% and 91%, respectively. Moreover for IPMN lesions, subtyping was possible in 63% of cases. TTNB resulted in change in clinical management in 20% of patients. We registered three adverse events: 2 self-limited intracystic bleeding and 1 patient with abdominal pain not associated with pancreatitis. Conclusion: TTNB proved superior to cyst fluid analysis and cytology for the definition of cyst histotype and mucinous cyst diagnosis with acceptable risk profile. Further studies should explore the best steps for procedure standardization.

Rare Pancreatic/Peripancreatic Cystic Lesions Can Be Accurately Characterized by EUS with Through-the-Needle Biopsy—A Unique Pictorial Essay with Clinical and Histopathological Correlations

“…EUS-TTNB is one of the most recent and promising techniques for the definition of PCLs, with excellent technical success (98.5%, CI 97.3-99.6%) and high accuracy (86.7%, CI 80.1-93.4) according to a recent metanalysis [15]. Several studies have compared TTNB to standard EUS-FNA, with conventional fluid analysis demonstrating the clear superiority of TTNB in risk stratification and its ability to provide a specific diagnosis [8,9,[11][12][13][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48]. Moreover, a study demonstrated that EUS-TTNB specimens are suitable for molecular analyses [49].…”

Modern aspects of the management of pancreatic intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms: a narrative review

“…EUS-guided fine-needle aspiration (FNA) provides samples for cytological, biomarker or molecular examination [ 10 , 44 , 50 , 51 , 52 ]. The accuracy of pancreatic EUS-guided fine-needle biopsy (FNB) is high, up to 85% [ 53 , 54 , 55 ], as its molecular analysis [ 56 ]. The assessment of IPMN malignancy by positron emission tomography (PET) using 68Gallium-labeled fibroblast activation protein inhibitor (68Ga–FAPI)–PET may be a helpful new diagnostic modality [ 57 ].…”

“…EUS-guided fine-needle aspiration (FNA) provides samples for cytological, biomarker or molecular examination [10,44,[50][51][52]. The accuracy of pancreatic EUS-guided fine-needle biopsy (FNB) is high, up to 85% [53][54][55], as its molecular analysis [56].…”

Performance of Intracystic Glucose Measurement for the Characterization of Pancreatic Cystic Lesions

“…This group of lesions encompasses a large array of entities, ranging from benign lesions with negligible malignant potential to premalignant and malignant lesions. An accurate differential diagnosis between lesions with no malignant potential and premalignant or malignant lesions is paramount as it prevents morbidity resulting from overtreatment of benign lesions and identifies patients requiring active surveillance or surgical treatment [2,3]. Distinguishing between mucinous PCLs (M-PCLs) and non-mucinous PCLs (NM-PCLs) represents the main challenge, as most premalignant PCLs are mucinous.…”