Ultrasonically guided fine-needle aspiration biopsy in focal pancreatic lesions

Ultrasonically guided fine-needle aspiration biopsy was performed in 100 patients with a focal pancreatic lesion. The lesion was a well-defined solid mass of 1 to 4 cm in 37 cases, a well-defined solid mass of 4.5 to 10 cm in 28 cases, an intrapancreatic cystic lesion in 23 cases, and an ill-defined prominent area in 12 cases. The samples were taken with a one-hand instrument and 0.7 to 0.9 mm disposable needles without a puncture adaptor. The material was sufficient for cytologic analysis in 98 cases. Malignant cells were obtained in 44 of the 49 cases with pancreatic carcinoma and lymphoma cells in one case with lymphomatous infiltration. Four of the six cases of cystadenoma could be identified cytologically. In solid inflammatory lesions, the nature of the lesion was seen in 12 of the 17 cases. There were no false positive reports of malignancy. The solid prominent areas of normal pancreatic tissue yielded normal cytologic samples. Aspirates of cystic lesions in the pancreas revealed one malignant case, and infected lesions could be differentiated from non-infected in the rest. There was one complication in a patient with an obstructed and dilated common bile duct. The aspiration procedure caused severe pain and the operation was performed earlier than scheduled. Diagnostic material is obtained in the majority of ultrasound guided aspiration biopsies of the pancreas. In malignancy, false negative results occur in about 10 per cent of cases.