Clinical Impact of Endoscopic Ultrasound and Endoscopic Ultrasound-Guided Fine-Needle Aspiration in the Management of Rectal Carcinoma

PURPOSE: There is scant data about the clinical impact of endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration in rectal carcinoma. This study was designed to determine the impact of endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration on the staging and management of rectal carcinoma and to compare the staging accuracy of computed tomography scan, endoscopic ultrasound, and endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration. METHODS: The records of 60 consecutive patients diagnosed with rectal carcinoma referred for endoscopic ultrasound staging were reviewed. Computed tomography scans, endoscopic ultrasound imaging, endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration staging, surgical pathology, and subsequent treatment were compared. RESULTS: Of 48 patients who underwent computed tomography scan imaging, the additional information provided by endoscopic ultrasound changed management in 38 percent of patients. Sixteen patients identified as having nonjuxtatumoral lymph nodes underwent fine-needle aspiration and the additional information obtained changed therapy in three (19 percent) of these patients. All five cases of recurrent rectal carcinoma were correctly diagnosed by fine-needle aspiration. Tumor staging accuracy was 45 percent (computed tomography) and 89 percent (endoscopic ultrasound; P < 0.0001); nodal staging accuracy was 68 percent (computed tomography), 85 percent (endoscopic ultrasound), and 92 percent (endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration; P = not significant). CONCLUSIONS: Endoscopic ultrasound imaging was better than computed tomography scanning at overall tumor staging, whereas endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration demonstrated a trend toward more accurate nodal staging. Preoperative staging with endoscopic ultrasound resulted in a change of management in 38 percent of patients. The addition of fine-needle aspiration changed the management in 19 percent of those who underwent nonjuxtatumoral lymph node sampling. Endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration accurately diagnosed 100 percent of those with recurrent rectal carcinoma. Clearly, endoscopic ultrasound and endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration are important for the staging and management of rectal carcinoma and for detecting disease recurrence.Presented at the EUS 13th International Symposium on Endoscopic Ultrasound, New York, New York, October 4 to 6, 2002     

Role of endoscopic ultrasound in diagnosis and therapy of pancreatic adenocarcinoma

Since its advent more than 20 years ago, endoscopic ultrasound （EUS） has undergone evolution from an experimental to a diagnostic instrument and is now established as a therapeutic tool for endoscopists. Endoscopic ultrasound cannot accurately distinguish benign from malignant changes in the primary lesion or lymph node on imaging alone. With the introduction of the curved linear array echoendoscope in the 2990s, the indications for EUS have expanded. The curved linear array echoendoscope enables the visualization of a needle as it exits from the biopsy channel in the same plane of ultrasound imaging in real time. This allows the endoscopist to perform a whole range of interventional applications ranging from fine needle aspiration （FNA） of lesions surrounding the gastrointestinal tract to celiac plexus block and drainage of pancreatic pseudocyst. This article reviews the current role of EUS and EUS-FNA in diagnosis, staging and interventional application of solid pancreatic cancer.     

Contrast-enhanced endoscopic ultrasound in discrimination between benign and malignant mediastinal and abdominal lymph nodes

Background Enlarged lymph nodes in the mediastinum reflect neoplastic, infectious or other diseases. The classification of these nodes is crucial in the management of the patient. Currently, only invasive measures obtaining tissue samples reach satisfying specificity. Contrast-enhanced endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) may offer a non-invasive alternative. Materials and methods A total of 122 patients (age: 63 ± 15 years, 92 males, 30 females) with enlarged mediastinal and/or paraaortic lymph nodes diagnosed by CT scan were included in the study. EUS-guided fine needle aspiration was performed and cytologic specimens were diagnosed as representing a malignant or benign process in case of Papanicolau IV and V, or Papanicolau I and II, respectively. Results Based on cytology results, the investigated lymph nodes were classified as neoplastic (n = 48) or non-neoplastic lymph nodes. Using the B-mode criteria the preliminary diagnosis was confirmed in 64 out of 74 benign lymph nodes (specificity 86%). Regarding malignant lymph nodes 33 of 48 were confirmed (sensitivity 68%). Using the advanced contrast-enhanced EUS criteria the diagnosis was confirmed in 68 of 74 benign lymph nodes (specificity 91%). However, in case of malignant lymph nodes the number of correct diagnoses dropped to 29 of 48 lymph nodes (sensitivity 60%). The contrast-enhanced EUS criteria to identify benign lymph nodes and node enlargement in malignant lymphoma do not differ. If those ten patients with malignant lymphoma are excluded, the sensitivity of the contrast enhanced EUS for malignant lymph nodes rises to 73%. Conclusion Contrast-enhanced EUS improves the specificity in diagnosing benign lymph nodes as compared to B-mode EUS. It does not improve the correct identification of malignant lymph nodes and cannot replace EUS-guided fine-needle aspiration. M. Hocke and M. Menges contributed equally to this work.     

Ampullary gangliocytic paraganglioma with lymph node metastasis: A case report with literature review

Rationale:Gangliocytic paraganglioma (GP) is a rare tumor that mostly develops in the duodenum and is composed of the following 3 cell types: epithelioid endocrine, spindle-like, and ganglion-like cells. It manifests as symptoms such as abdominal pain, gastrointestinal bleeding, and weight loss; however, occasionally, it is incidentally detected on endoscopic or radiologic examinations. Although GP is usually benign, it can metastasize to the lymph nodes, and distant metastases have been reported in some cases.Patient concerns:A 46-year-old woman presented with anemia on health surveillance examination. She had no other specific symptoms, and her physical examination did not reveal any abnormal finding.Diagnosis:Endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration biopsy was performed, and the endoscopist obtained samples from the inner side of the ampullary mass. Pathological examination suggested GP or a neuroendocrine tumor.Interventions:Initially, we planned transduodenal ampullectomy with lymph node excision. However, there was severe fibrosis around the duodenum, and an examination of a frozen biopsy sample from the periduodenal lymph node showed atypical cells in the lymph node. Therefore, we performed pylorus-preserving pancreaticoduodenectomy with lymph node dissection.Outcomes:The final pathological diagnosis was GP located in the ampulla of Vater. The GP showed lymphovascular and perineural invasion and invaded the duodenal wall. Furthermore, 4 out of 18 harvested lymph nodes showed metastasis.Lessons:We described a case of GP confined to the ampulla with regional lymph node metastasis and reviewed published literature on ampullary GP with lymph node metastasis.     

Presence of Lymph Node Vasculature: A New EUS Criterion for Benign Nodes?

Objectives Lymph nodes normally have prominent centrally located blood vessels, which may become obliterated with tumor infiltration. The presence of intranodal vasculature has been noted to coincide with benign cytology. We sought to determine the test characteristics of the presence of intranodal mediastinal vasculature during endoscopic ultrasound (EUS). Methods 67 mediastinal lymph nodes evaluated by EUS in 66 patients over a 1-year period were evaluated for the presence of intranodal vasculature, which was considered benign when it traversed through the node without disruption. Results Of the 67 lymph nodes evaluated, 29 (43%) were found to be malignant on cytopathologic review. Benign vascular markings were present in 15/67 (22.4%) lymph nodes evaluated. All 15 (100%) of these nodes were found to have benign fine-needle aspiration (FNA) results. The presence of benign vasculature had a negative predictive value of 100%. Conclusions The presence of intranodal vasculature was universally associated with a benign diagnosis. The addition of this EUS finding improves the ability to characterize lymph nodes and predict the likelihood of malignant involvement.     

Evaluation of metastatic celiac axis lymph nodes in patients with esophageal carcinoma: accuracy of EUS.

BACKGROUND: Endosonography (EUS) is the most accurate modality for assessing depth of tumor invasion and local lymph node metastasis. However, its accuracy in the identification of metastatic (celiac axis) lymph nodes is less well defined. Our objective in this study was to determine the accuracy of Eus in detecting celiac axis lymph node metastasis in patients with esophageal carcinoma. METHODS: Two hundred fourteen patients with esophageal carcinoma underwent preoperative EUS. Of these, 145 underwent attempted surgical resection and staging, and 4 underwent EUS-guided fine-needle aspiration of mediastinal and celiac lymph nodes. Local (mediastinal) and distant (celiac axis) lymph nodes were assessed for malignancy on the basis of four criteria (larger than 1 cm, round, homogeneous echo pattern, sharp borders). Accuracy of EUS was determined by means of correlating histopathologic findings for the resected lymph nodes or results of EUS-guided fine-needle aspiration cytologic examination. RESULTS: Surgical exploration (n = 145) and fine-needle aspiration cytologic examination (n = 4) revealed metastatic celiac axis lymph nodes in 23 and metastatic mediastinal (local) lymph nodes in 93 of 149 patients with esophageal carcinoma. According to defined criteria for malignant lymph nodes, there were 19 true-positive and 4 falsenegative results. Sensitivity for the diagnosis of celiac lymph node metastasis with EUS was 83% with a 98% specificity. For the diagnosis of mediastinal lymph node metastasis, sensitivity was 79% and specificity was 63%. All patients with malignant celiac axis lymph nodes had local T3 (tumor breaching adventitia) or T4 (tumor invading adjacent organs) disease. CONCLUSION: EUS is an excellent modality in the evaluation of metastatic celiac axis lymph nodes in patients with esophageal carcinoma. These findings should be used in selecting options for treatment. Sensitivity for detecting malignancy is consistent with that of prior studies, and local and regional lymph nodes and specificity is significantly higher.     

Celiac and perigastric lymph node metastasis of prostate cancer diagnosed with endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration

Endoscopic ultrasound has been used to diagnose and stage gastrointestinal and nongastrointestinal tumours. To our knowledge, the present report describes the first case of celiac and perigastric lymph node metastasis of prostate cancer diagnosed with endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration.     

Periportal lymphadenopathy in patients without identifiable pancreatobiliary or hepatic malignancy.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Enlarged periportal lymph nodes often are noticed during imaging of the upper abdomen. Malignant infiltration and enlargement of periportal nodes occur in patients with cancers of the liver, gallbladder, biliary tree, and pancreas and lymphoma. However, there are no published data on the significance and differential diagnosis of enlarged periportal lymph nodes in patients without the above mentioned cancers. METHODS: We searched our database for patients who (1) underwent endoscopic ultrasound for evaluation of enlarged periportal nodes or (2) were found to have enlarged periportal lymph nodes (> or =10 mm) during endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) examination. Patients with identifiable pancreatic, biliary, gallbladder, or liver cancers were excluded. EUS-guided fine-needle aspiration of one or more nodes was performed. RESULTS: Sixty-four patients with periportal lymph nodes 10-40 mm in size met the inclusion criteria. In 24 patients, enlarged periportal nodes were noted in the computerized tomography or magnetic resonance imaging scans. Fifty-one patients had multiple enlarged periportal nodes. Concomitantly, enlargement was seen in peripancreatic nodes (n = 14), celiac nodes (n = 14), and mediastinal nodes (n = 11). Twelve of the 64 patients (18.8%; 95% confidence interval, 9.2%-28.4%) had a malignant cause of enlarged periportal lymph nodes: 5 with metastatic carcinoma and 7 with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Significant cytologic findings in benign nodes included granulomas (n = 4) and lipogranulomatosis (n = 8). CONCLUSIONS: A significant number of patients with enlarged periportal lymph nodes without identifiable pancreatobiliary and liver cancer harbor malignancy and other identifiable pathologic processes. We recommend that these nodes be sampled with fine-needle aspiration at the time of EUS examination.     

Pancreas cystic lymphangioma diagnosed with EUS-FNA

CONTEXT: Endoscopic ultrasound has proved to be an invaluable tool when obtaining high quality images of the pancreas. Furthermore, fine-needle aspiration of suspected lesions can be carried out simultaneously thus providing tissue samples for cytologic diagnosis. We present two cases of a rare pancreatic lesion that were diagnosed by endoscopic ultrasound with fine-needle aspiration. CASE #1: A 60-year-old asymptomatic gentleman was found to have an incidental pancreatic lesion on abdominal computed tomography scan during a cardiac workup. Patient had no personal or family medical history that would predispose him to pancreatic lesions. Endoscopic ultrasound was performed and patient was diagnosed with pancreatic cystic lymphangioma. CASE #2: A 40-year-old asymptomatic gentleman with history of heavy alcohol use was found to have an incidental pancreatic lesion on computed tomography scan during a work up of chest pain. Computed tomography guided fine-needle aspiration was negative for malignancy but no other studies were performed on the fluid sample at that time. Patient was then referred to our institution after repeat computed tomography scan showed a stable lesion. Endoscopic ultrasound did not show evidence of pancreatitis and fine-needle aspiration was consistent with pancreatic cystic lymphangioma. DISCUSSION: The universally available and escalating use of computed tomography scans has led to an increased detection of incidental cystic pancreatic lesions. Pancreatic cystic lymphangiomas are a rare lesion and account for less than one percent of all pancreatic cystic lesions. These lesions are easily and accurately diagnosed by the use of endoscopic ultrasound guided fine-needle aspiration.     

Endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration for the diagnosis of sarcoidosis.

The objective of the current study was to assess the yield of endoscopic ultrasound (EUS)-guided fine-needle aspiration (FNA) for the diagnosis of sarcoidosis in a large patient group. Bronchoscopy with transbronchial lung biopsy (TBLB) is nondiagnostic in 30% of patients with suspected sarcoidosis and has a risk of pneumothorax and haemoptysis. In order to obtain a diagnosis, mediastinoscopy is often performed as the next diagnostic procedure. EUS-FNA provides a nonsurgical alternative for the demonstration of noncaseating granulomas by aspirating mediastinal lymph nodes from the oesophagus. In total, 51 patients with suspected sarcoidosis stage I and II underwent EUS-FNA. Thirty-six patients (71%) previously underwent a nondiagnostic bronchoscopy. All patients were clinically followed (median 18 months) and surgical-pathological verification occurred in those patients with EUS aspirates that contained unrepresentative material. EUS-FNA demonstrated noncaseating granulomas without necrosis in 41 of 50 patients (82%) with the final diagnosis of sarcoidosis. Specific ultrasound features of clustered, well-demarcated iso-echoic lymph nodes were observed in 64% of patients with sarcoidosis. No complications occurred. Endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration has a high yield in diagnosing sarcoidosis and qualifies as the next diagnostic step after a nondiagnostic bronchoscopy. The current authors expect that endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration will reduce the number of mediastinoscopies for the diagnosis of sarcoidosis dramatically.     

Endosonography of pararectal lymph nodes

One hundred thirteen patients with carcinoma of the rectum were evaluated for lymph node metastases by endorectal ultrasound. With the use of 7.5 MHz and based on different echo patterns, two main groups of lymph nodes can be differentiated: hypoechoic and hyperechoic lymph nodes. Compared with pathologic findings, hypoechoic lymph nodes represent metastases, whereas hyperechoic lymph nodes are visualized due to unspecific inflammation. Lymph node metastases can be predicted with a sensitivity of 72 percent and inflammatory lymph nodes with a specificity of 83 percent. The physical basis of the differentiation of lymph nodes was assessed in vitro by the determination of ultrasound parameters (speed of sound, acoustic impedance, attenuation, and backscattered amplitude). The attenuation coefficient of benign lymph nodes [2.5 dB/(MHz×cm)] is significantly higher than the mean value of lymph node metastases [1.3 db/(MHz×cm)]. The results demonstrate that involved nodes can principally be differentiated from not involved nodes. Micrometastases, mixed lymph nodes, and changing echo patterns within inflammatory nodes explain the accuracy rate of 78 percent.Supported by a grant from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft Hi 385/1-1     

Endoscopic ultrasound-guided tissue acquisition of lymph nodes

One of the most common indications for endoscopic ultrasound (EUS)-guided tissue sampling is to diagnose the etiology of suspicious lymphadenopathy. Although most cases of lymphadenopathy are benign and self-limiting, patients with deep-seated lymph nodes living in tuberculosis endemic areas or with suspected malignancy require tissue diagnosis to guide treatment. Fine-needle aspirate and fine-needle biopsy systems have excellent reliability for evaluating both benign and malignant lymph node diseases. The advent of new technologies and addition of ancillary molecular diagnostics have improved the diagnostic potential obtained by fine-needle sampling. In turn, the clinical applications of EUS tissue sampling have evolved and further expanded to include granulomatous diseases and lymphoma. Optimizing tissue acquisition to obtain high-quality specimens is of utmost importance and may be achieved with operative strategies unique to lymph node sampling. This chapter discusses the powerful clinical impact of EUS-guided lymph node sampling and technical considerations of optimizing diagnostic yield.     

Differentiation of benign and malignant lymph nodes with contrast-enhanced echolymphography using endoscopic ultrasound-guided puncture

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Although endoscopic ultrasonography is considered the most useful diagnostic modality for the regional staging, the capability of diagnosing lymph node metastasis based on endoscopic ultrasonography images alone is not sufficient. To improve the capability of differential diagnosis of lymph node enlargement, contrast-enhanced echolymphography was performed using endoscopic ultrasonography-guided puncture. METHODOLOGY: Contrast-enhanced echolymphography was performed in 8 metastatic lymph nodes surgically resected from patients with gastrointestinal cancers (in vitro study) and also in 55 patients in whom abdominal lymph node swelling was indicated by endoscopic ultrasonography (in vivo study). Lymph nodes were punctured under real-time endoscopic ultrasonography guidance, and carbon dioxide microbubbles were injected to evaluate echo features before and after microbubbles injection. RESULTS: Contrast-enhanced echolymphography of freshly resected metastatic lymph nodes showed nonhomogeneous echo patterns. In regions demonstrating filling defects detected by contrast-enhanced echolymphography, neoplastic infiltration was pathologically observed. In almost all of the malignant lymph nodes studied in vivo, filling defects and heterogeneous enhancements were observed by contrast-enhanced echolymphography. However, contrast-enhanced echolymphography demonstrated uniform patterns in most of the benign group. The sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive value, and accuracy of differential diagnosis by contrast-enhanced echolymphography were 95.8%, 90.3%, 88.5%, 96.6%, and 92.7%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Contrast-enhanced echolymphography is a useful method for help in the differentiation between reactive and malignant alterations of lymph nodes.     

Defining the lymph node burden in a Northern European population without malignancy: the potential effect of geography in determining a need for FNA?

Data from the USA suggest that morphological specificity is insufficient to permit an assumption of malignancy in nodal staging with endoscopic ultrasound (EUS). This may not hold true elsewhere as the background lymph node burden may vary in different geographic regions. We aimed to assess the prevalence and features of mediastinal and abdominal lymph nodes at EUS in a Northern European population without malignant disease. A total of 129 consecutive patients without malignant disease referred for radial EUS were prospectively evaluated for the prevalence and echo features of lymph nodes in the mediastinum and upper abdomen. Sixty-two percent of patients had mediastinal lymph nodes and 17% had abdominal nodes at EUS. A mean of 1.4 (standard deviation 1.3, range 0–8) nodes were found per patient. No celiac nodes were seen. The majority of detected nodes were 0.5 cm or less in short axis, had oval shape, centrally echogenic pattern, and indistinct borders. The most common node locations were the subcarinal and paraesophageal areas, and the hepatoduodenal ligament. In multivariate analysis mediastinal lymphadenopathy was related to body mass index and abdominal lymphadenopathy to acute pancreatitis. The occurence of mediastinal lymphadenopathy is markedly lower in Northern Europeans than reported for US patients. Celiac nodes are extremely rare in patients without malignancy. The majority of nodes have a width of 0.5 cm or less, have oval shape, centrally echogenic pattern, and indistinct borders. The characterization of the background lymph node burden may improve the selection of lymph nodes for fine needle aspiration.     

Factors predicting the number of EUS-guided fine-needle passes for diagnosis of pancreatic malignancies

BACKGROUND: The factors that affect the number of needle passes needed to diagnose pancreatic malignancies using endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) -guided fine-needle aspiration are unknown. METHODS: Patient and endosonographic data were prospectively recorded on 121 consecutive patients with pancreatic malignancy. Of these, 110 underwent EUS-guided fine-needle aspiration. A cytopathologist was in attendance for all aspiration procedures. RESULTS: Initial EUS detected a pancreatic mass in 96% of cases; 23% of these were not seen by computed tomography. EUS-guided fine-needle aspiration was performed in 109 of 110 (99%) patients, including 95 masses, 7 lymph nodes, and 7 hepatic metastases. EUS-guided fine-needle aspiration provided a cytologic diagnosis of malignancy in 104 of 110 (95%). Only tumor differentiation and the site of aspiration affected the number of passes. CONCLUSIONS: With the participation of a cytopathologist, EUS-guided fine-needle aspiration can diagnose pancreatic malignancies with a high degree of accuracy. Only the aspiration site (mass versus node/liver metastasis) can be used to direct the number of passes if a cytopathologist is not present. Without a cytopathologist in attendance, 5 to 6 passes should be made for pancreatic masses and 2 to 3 for liver metastases or lymph nodes; however, this approach will be associated with a 10% to 15% reduction in definitive cytologic diagnoses, extra procedure time, increased risk and additional needles.     

Utility of an upper echoendoscope for endoscopic ultrasonography of malignant and benign conditions of the sigmoid/left colon and the rectum

OBJECTIVE: The majority of data on colonic endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) are limited to malignant lesions in the rectum and diseases of the anal sphincter. The forward-oblique-viewing upper echoendoscope has been mostly applied for staging rectal cancer. A front-viewing echocolonoscope is available but has not been widely used because of limited indications and the expense of buying another instrument. The purpose of our study was to evaluate the utility of a forward-oblique-viewing upper echoendoscope for EUS of malignant and benign lesions of the sigmoid/left colon and the rectum. METHODS: Thirty-two EUS exams were performed for a variety of indications in the rectum and the sigmoid/left colon. The patients were prepared for the exam in a manner similar to the performance of flexible sigmoidoscopy. Flexible sigmoidoscopy was performed in all cases before performing EUS. Surgical path data were reviewed in all cases if the patient had surgery after EUS. RESULTS: Twenty-six exams were done for staging of rectosigmoid carcinoma, follow-up after chemotherapy and/or radiation, or to look for recurrence after resection of colorectal cancer. Surgical pathology results were available in 20 patients. The accuracies of EUS were 85% for T staging and 80% for N staging. Six EUS exams were for benign causes, including evaluation for the presence of a perirectal abscess in two (no abscess found), to rule out rectal varices in one (EUS confirmed rectal varices), and evaluation of submucosal lesions. One patient subsequent to EUS imaging also underwent a linear EUS-guided fine-needle aspiration of a submucosal mass in the rectum with the fine-needle aspirate consistent with a myogenic tumor. CONCLUSIONS: The forward-oblique-viewing upper echoendoscope is a versatile instrument that can be applied for EUS imaging of malignant and benign indications not only in the rectum but also in the sigmoid/left colon.     

Transabdominal ultrasonography in preoperative staging of gastric cancer

AIM: To investigate the value of transabdominal ultrasonography (US) in the preoperative staging of gastric cancer. METHODS: A total of 198 patients with gastric cancer underwent preoperatively transabdominal US, depth of tumor infiltration was assessed in 125 patients, and lymph node metastasis was assessed in 106 patients. RESULTS: The staging accuracy of transabdominal US was 55.6%, 75.0%, 87.3% and 71.1% in T1, T2, T3 and T4 carcinomas, respectively. The overall accuracy was 77.6%. The detection rate for pancreatic invasion and liver invasion was 77.4%, 71.4%, respectively. The sensitivity, specificity, accuracy of transabdominal US in assessment of lymph node metastasis were 77.6%, 64.1%, 72.6%, respectively. Various shapes such as round, ovoid, spindle were encountered in benign and malignant lymph nodes. Majority of both benign and malignant lymph nodes were hyperechoic and had a distinct border. Benign lymph nodes were smaller than malignant lymph nodes in length and width (P = 0.000, 0.005). Irregular shape, fusional shape, infiltrative signs, inhomogenous echo were seen mainly in malignant lymph nodes (P = 0.045, 0.006, 0.027, 0.006). CONCLUSION: Transabdominal US is useful for preoperative staging in gastric cancer, although it is difficult to differentiate benign from malignant lymph nodes.     

Mediastinal Lymph Node Metastasis of Esophageal Cancer with Esophageal Stenosis Diagnosed via Transesophageal Endoscopic Ultrasound with Bronchoscope-guided Fine-needle Aspiration

An 80-year-old man underwent follow-up examinations after endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) for esophageal cancer. Computed tomography showed enlarged lymph nodes of the right recurrent nerve. The patient had esophageal stenosis due to repeated ESD for multiple esophageal tumors. The stenosis made the passage of an endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) scope through the esophagus difficult. Thus, an endobronchial ultrasound bronchoscope, which had a thinner diameter than that of the EUS scope, was used for transesophageal endoscopic ultrasound with bronchoscope-guided fine-needle aspiration. This technique led to the diagnosis of mediastinal lymph node metastasis of esophageal cancer.     

Endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration for the diagnosis of peripancreatic tuberculous lymphadenitis

The percentage of patients with atypical extrapulmonary forms of tuberculosis has been increasing. Among extrapulmonary tuberculosis cases, tuberculosis of the pancreas and peripancreatic lymph nodes is a rare clinical entity. Here, we present a case of peripancreatic tuberculous lymphadenitis diagnosed by endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration (EUS-FNA) both cytologically and microbiologically. A 23-year-old man had a 1-week history of epigastralgia and low-grade fever. Subsequently, he was found to have an abnormality on abdominal ultrasound. A computed tomography scan of the abdomen showed a solitary mass consisting of multiple cystic components with rim enhancement in the peripancreatic portion contiguous to the gall bladder. Endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration was performed to confirm the diagnosis. The cytological examination revealed epithelioid cells with caseous necrosis, indicating tuberculosis. The aspirated fluid was positive by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis and culture for Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Antituberculosis therapy with isoniazid, rifampicin, ethambutol, and pyrazinamide was started based on the PCR and cytology results, and a good response to the treatment was noted. Endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration cytology with PCR analysis is very useful for the diagnosis of peripancreatic tuberculosis.     

Initial evaluation of the forward-viewing echoendoscope prototype for performing fine-needle aspiration, Tru-cut biopsy, and celiac plexus neurolysis

Background and Aims: A forward‐viewing echoendoscope (FV‐CLA) has been recently developed for performing interventional endoscopic ultrasound (EUS). The role of FV‐CLA in performing standard EUS‐guided fine‐needle aspiration (FNA), Tru‐cut biopsy (TCB), and celiac plexus neurolysis (CPN) is unknown. Our aims were to evaluate the feasibility of the FV‐CLA for performing EUS‐guided FNA/TCB and CPN. Methods: In this prospective study conducted over a 3‐month period, 30 patients were evaluated with the FV‐CLA. Procedures performed were FNA in 28 lesions, TCB in one, and CPN in five patients. Results: EUS‐guided FNA was undertaken at the following sites: mediastinum (n = 3), liver (n = 2), retroperitoneal mass (n = 2), pancreas head/uncinate (n = 9), pancreas body (n = 6), pancreas tail (n = 4), and perigastric lymph node (n = 2). The median size of the lesions was 37 × 34 mm. A median of two passes was performed (range: 1–7). Final cytopathology diagnosed malignancies in 21 patients, with adenocarcinoma suspected for one.TCB of a mediastinal lymph node revealed lymphoma. FNA was benign in six patients. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value for a malignancy diagnosis was 96% (95% confidence interval [CI], 87–96%), 100% (95% CI, 70–100%), 100% (92–100), and 86% (60–86%), respectively. CPN was successful in all five patients. It was easier to deploy the needle from the echoendoscope at all locations, including the duodenum, and irrespective of the site of the lesion. Conclusions: The initial evaluation and safety profile of the FV‐CLA echoendoscope for performing standard FNA/TCB and CPN appear to be favorable. The narrow image does not preclude basic therapeutic maneuvers. A major advantage appears to be easy needle deployment at any site within reach of the echoendoscope.