Duodenoscopic guided biopsy of the biliary and pancreatic duct

First experiences with duodenoscopic guided biopsy of the biliary and the pancreatic duct on 11 cases using a special designed forceps showed that this method gave good and representative results in the biliary duct and from the papilla. However, in the present stage of development guided biopsy from the pancreatic duct does not aid exact differential diagnosis of benign or malignant lesions. In 3 out of 4 cases with pancreatic cancer the histological diagnosis was false negative. The biopsy specimens are very small and need an exact preparation and great experience of the histologist. Cytologic criteria must be relied on more here as in other areas of the GI-tract. However, the criteria of malignancy rest not in the nature of the individual cell but in the manner of proliferation, namely the infiltration of the deeper layers. This is the advantage of guided biopsy compared to cytological examination. Complications of the method may be avoided by exact guiding of the forceps and by limiting the numbers of specimens.