Endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration for pancreatic cancer

Abstract

Since the development of endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration (EUS-FNA) in the early 1990s, its application has been extended to various diseases. For pancreatic cancer (PC), EUS-FNA can obtain specimens from the tumor itself with fewer complications than other methods. EUS-FNA can also be more useful for TNM staging than other imaging modalities. Furthermore, EUS-FNA can contribute to precision medicine by obtaining tissue for immunohistochemical or genetic studies from primary or metastatic sites of diseases. This paper will focus on the role of EUS-FNA in PC.