Diagnosis of Pancreatic Cystic Lesions With EUS-FNA and Cross-sectional Imaging - A Report of Accuracy

Pancreatic cystic lesions (PCLs) comprise of a heterogeneous group of entities that are benign, premalignant or malignant. With increased use of modern imaging techniques in recent years, incidentally discovered PCL have become much more common. However, imaging modalities for characterising PCL is a known clinical uncertainty since imaging is capable of detecting these lesions but may often not be able to distinguish malignant from benign lesions. Incorrect assessment of PCL can lead to fatal consequences because a malignant lesion may not be treated and a benign may be unnecessarily resected. The aim of this study was to assess the performance of endoscopic ultrasound with fine-needle aspiration (EUS-FNA) in the diagnosis of pancreatic cystic lesions compared to cross-sectional imaging modalities (CT/MRI). Our hypothesis is that EUS-FNA has a higher accuracy for diagnosing PCLs compared with cross-sectional imaging.