Pancreas Fine Needle Aspiration: Current and Future Impact on Patient Care

Abstract

Pancreatic lesions can be solid or cystic and comprise a wide range of benign, premalignant, and malignant entities. Endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration (EUS-FNA) is the current primary sampling method for the preoperative diagnosis of pancreatic lesions. Optimal handling of cytology/small tissue specimens is critical to ensure that the often-scant diagnostic material is appropriately utilized for ancillary and/or molecular studies when appropriate. Ultimately, evaluation of EUS-FNA cytology and small biopsy material can provide accurate and timely diagnoses to guide patient management and triage them to surveillance or surgical intervention.

Keywords: Cyst fluid triage; Cytology; Cytopathology; Fine needle aspiration; Pancreatic cyst fluid; Pancreatic cystic lesion; Pancreatic cytology; Pancreatic neoplasms.