Endoscopic ultrasound-guided local therapy for pancreatic neoplasms

Abstract

Surgical resection is considered the only treatment option for pancreatic cancer and other pancreatic neoplasms with malignant potential, such as neuroendocrine tumors, mucinous cystic neoplasms, and intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms. However, only 10%-20% of all patients with pancreatic cancer present with resectable forms of the disease as the symptoms are rarely manifested during the early stages, and the disease tends to progress rapidly. Furthermore, pancreatic surgery is associated with high rates of morbidity and mortality. The development of linear-array endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) techniques has increased the indications of EUS-guided local therapy for pancreatic neoplasms. We assessed the studies that investigated various treatment modalities, such as fine-needle injection, radiofrequency ablation, irreversible electroporation, and radiotherapy, under EUS guidance to better understand the usefulness of these techniques with respect to the efficacy and associated complications.