Endoscopic Ultrasound Guided Fine Needle Aspiration of the Pancreas

Currently, pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer-associated deaths in the United States and ranks ninth in its incidence. Increased mortality from this tumor results from multiple factors including detection at advanced stages, aggressive biology, and relative resistance to available therapy. It is reported that resection of early (size<3.0cm) organ-confined tumors provide significantly improved patient survival in comparison to large tumors.1 It is, therefore, important to detect these tumors early. Imaging studies (percutaneous ultrasound and CT scan) have provided a valuable support in detection of these tumors for a long time. Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) is a relatively new imaging modality and is reported to be superior to both CT scans and MRI in detecting pancreatic lesions, especially when lesions are smaller than 3.0 cm.2