[Needle biopsy of pancreatic masses]

We report the results of 66 ultrasound or CT guided needle aspirations in 59 patients with pancreatic masses, from 1983 to 1987. Cytologic and histologic samples were obtained in 45 cases. Histologic samples, formed by minute tissue fragments, were paraffin embedded for standard sections (minibiopsy). Sensitivity, specificity and overall accuracy of the series as a whole were 88, 100 and 89.8%, respectively. We discuss the clinical usefulness of the technique; isolated cytologic and histologic results are compared and the minibiopsy contribution to the cytologic diagnosis is discussed.