Endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration biopsy coupled with a KRAS mutation assay using allelic discrimination improves the diagnosis of pancreatic cancer

Abstract

Goals and background: Mutation of the KRAS oncogene is present in 75% to 95% of pancreatic cancer tissues. This study aimed to evaluate whether endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration (EUS-FNA), combined with analysis of the KRAS mutation, improves the diagnosis of pancreatic cancer in cases of inconclusive or doubtful cytopathologic analysis.

Patients and methods: We prospectively included 186 patients with a pancreatic mass (103 men; mean age: 62 y). Cytopathology and KRAS mutations, using TaqMan MGB allelic discrimination, were performed on EUS-FNA material. A final diagnosis was obtained from EUS-FNA analysis and/or a subsequent biopsy if necessary, and/or surgery, and follow-up: these were pancreatic adenocarcinoma (n=104), other malignant pancreatic tumors (n=22), and benign lesions (n=60, including 35 cases of chronic pancreatitis).

Results: Inconclusive or doubtful (low-grade dysplasia or atypia) cytopathology was found in 68 cases. Of these, 29 patients who had adenocarcinoma were subsequently diagnosed, including 19 cases with a former KRAS mutation. Sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values, and overall accuracy of cytopathology alone to diagnose adenocarcinoma were 73%, 100%, 100%, 75%, and 85%, respectively. When KRAS mutation analysis was combined with pathology, these values reached 88%, 99%, 99%, 89%, and 93%, respectively. The performance of EUS-FNA to diagnose malignancy was similarly improved after the KRAS-mutation assay (negative predictive value increased from 67% to 88%; accuracy increased from 85% to 94%).

Conclusions: EUS-FNA plus KRAS-mutation analysis, using allelic discrimination, is accurate and improves the diagnosis of pancreatic adenocarcinoma when pathology is inconclusive or doubtful.