Pancreatic Cytopathology

Abstract

Pancreatic cytopathology, particularly through the use of endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration (FNA), has excellent specificity and sensitivity for the diagnosis of pancreatic lesions. Such diagnoses can help guide preoperative management of patients, provide prognostic information, and confirm diagnoses in patients who are not surgical candidates. Furthermore, FNA can be used to obtain cyst fluid for ancillary tests that can improve the diagnosis of cystic lesions. In this article, we describe the cytomorphological features and differential diagnoses of the most commonly encountered pancreatic lesions on FNA.

Keywords: Cytology; Cytopathology; FNA; Fine-needle aspiration; Pancreas; Pancreatic cytopathology.