Endoscopic Ultrasound-guided Radiofrequency Ablation Versus Surgical Resection for Treatment of Pancreatic Insulinoma.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Endoscopic ultrasound-guided radiofrequency ablation (EUS-RFA) is emerging as a safe and effective treatment for pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors. We aimed to compare EUS-RFA and surgical resection for the treatment of pancreatic insulinoma (PI). METHODS: Patients with sporadic PI who underwent EUS-RFA at 23 centers or surgical resection at 8 high-volume pancreatic surgery institutions between 2014 and 2022 were retrospectively identified and outcomes compared using a propensity-matching analysis. Primary outcome was safety. Secondary outcomes were clinical efficacy, hospital stay, and recurrence rate after EUS-RFA. RESULTS: Using propensity score matching, 89 patients were allocated in each group (1:1), and were evenly distributed in terms of age, sex, Charlson comorbidity index, American Society of Anesthesiologists score, body mass index, distance between lesion and main pancreatic duct, lesion site, size, and grade. Adverse event (AE) rate was 18.0% and 61.8% after EUS-RFA and surgery, respectively (P < .001). No severe AEs were observed in the EUS-RFA group compared with 15.7% after surgery (P < .0001). Clinical efficacy was 100% after surgery and 95.5% after EUS-RFA (P = .160). However, the mean duration of follow-up time was shorter in the EUS-RFA group (median, 23 months; interquartile range, 14-31 months vs 37 months; interquartile range, 17.5-67 months in the surgical group; P < .0001). Hospital stay was significantly longer in the surgical group (11.1 ± 9.7 vs 3.0 ± 2.5 days in the EUS-RFA group; P < .0001). Fifteen lesions (16.9%) recurred after EUS-RFA and underwent a successful repeat EUS-RFA (11 patients) or surgical resection (4 patients). CONCLUSION: EUS-RFA is safer than surgery and highly effective for the treatment of PI. If confirmed in a randomized study, EUS-RFA treatment can become first-line therapy for sporadic PI.

Prospective Study Assessing Impact of Ethylene Oxide Sterilization on Endoscopic Ultrasound Image Quality.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Duodenoscope-associated transmission of infections has raised questions about efficacy of endoscope reprocessing using high-level disinfection (HLD). Although ethylene oxide (ETO) gas sterilization is effective in eradicating microbes, the impact of ETO on endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) imaging equipment remains unknown. In this study, we aimed to compare the changes in EUS image quality associated with HLD vs HLD followed by ETO sterilization. METHODS: Four new EUS instruments were assigned to 2 groups: Group 1 (HLD) and Group 2 (HLD + ETO). The echoendoscopes were assessed at baseline, monthly for 6 months, and once every 3 to 4 months thereafter, for a total of 12 time points. At each time point, review of EUS video and still image quality was performed by an expert panel of reviewers along with phantom-based objective testing. Linear mixed effects models were used to assess whether the modality of reprocessing impacted image and video quality. RESULTS: For clinical testing, mixed linear models showed minimal quantitative differences in linear analog score (P = .04; estimated change, 3.12; scale, 0-100) and overall image quality value (P = .007; estimated change, -0.12; scale, 1-5) favoring ETO but not for rank value (P = .06). On phantom testing, maximum depth of penetration was lower for ETO endoscopes (P < .001; change in depth, 0.49 cm). CONCLUSIONS: In this prospective study, expert review and phantom-based testing demonstrated minimal differences in image quality between echoendoscopes reprocessed using HLD vs ETO + HLD over 2 years of clinical use. Further studies are warranted to assess the long-term clinical impact of these findings. In the interim, these results support use of ETO sterilization of EUS instruments if deemed clinically necessary.

22G Acquire vs. 20G Procore needle for endoscopic ultrasound-guided biopsy of pancreatic masses: a randomized study comparing histologic sample quantity and diagnostic accuracy.

BACKGROUND : Endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle biopsy (EUS-FNB) has been suggested for obtaining high quality tissue samples from pancreatic tumors. We performed a multicenter randomized crossover trial comparing EUS-FNB with a 20G Procore needle vs. a 22G Acquire needle. The aims were to compare the quantity of targeted tissue (pancreas) and diagnostic accuracy for the two needles. METHODS : 60 patients admitted for EUS-FNB in three endoscopy units were included. One pass was performed consecutively with each needle, in a randomized order. Histologic material was studied in a blinded manner with respect to the needle. The primary end point was mean cumulative length of tissue core biopsies per needle pass. RESULTS : Final diagnosis was adenocarcinoma (n = 46; 77 %), neuroendocrine neoplasm (n = 11; 18 %), autoimmune pancreatitis (n = 2), and mass-forming chronic pancreatitis (n = 1). The mean cumulative length of tissue core biopsies per needle pass was significantly higher with the 22G Acquire needle at 11.4 mm (95 % confidence interval [CI] 9.0 - 13.8] vs. 5.4 mm (95 %CI 3.8 - 7.0) for the 20G Procore needle (P < 0.001), as was the mean surface area (3.5 mm2 [95 %CI 2.7 - 4.3] vs. 1.8 mm2 [95 %CI 1.2 - 2.3]; P < 0.001). Diagnostic adequacy and accuracy were 100 % and 87 % with the 22G Acquire needle, and 82 % and 67 % with the 20G Procore needle (P = 0.001 and P = 0.02, respectively). CONCLUSIONS : EUS-guided biopsy of pancreatic masses with the 22G Acquire needle provided more tissue for histologic evaluation and better diagnostic accuracy than the 20G Procore needle.

Impact of needle-based confocal laser endomicroscopy on the therapeutic management of single pancreatic cystic lesions.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: The diagnosis and therapeutic management of large single pancreatic cystic lesions (PCLs) represent major issues for clinicians and essentially rely on endoscopic ultrasound fine-needle aspiration (EUS-FNA) findings. Needle-based confocal laser endomicroscopy (nCLE) has high diagnostic performance for PCLs. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of nCLE on the therapeutic management of patients with single PCLs. METHODS: Retrospective and comparative study. Five independent pancreatic disease experts from tertiary hospitals independently reviewed data from a prospective database of 206 patients with single PCL, larger than 2 cm and who underwent EUS-FNA and nCLE. Two evaluations were performed. The first one included the sequential review of clinical information, EUS report and FNA results. The second one included the same data + nCLE report. Participants had to propose a therapeutic management for each case. RESULTS: The addition of nCLE to EUS-FNA led to significant changes in therapeutic management for 28% of the patients (p < 0.001). nCLE significantly increased the interobserver agreement of 0.28 (p < 0.0001), from 0.36 (CI 95% 0.33-0.49) to 0.64 (CI 95% 0.61-0.67). nCLE improved the rates of full agreement among the five experts of 24% (p < 0.0001), from 30 to 54%. With nCLE, the surveillance rate of benign SCAs fell by 35%, from 40 (28/70) to 5% (4/76). CONCLUSION: The addition of nCLE to EUS-FNA significantly improves reliability of PCL diagnosis and could impact the therapeutic management of patients with single PCLs. ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01563133.

Needle-based confocal laser endomicroscopy of pancreatic cystic lesions: a prospective multicenter validation study in patients with definite diagnosis.

BACKGROUND: Needle-based confocal laser endomicroscopy (nCLE) enables observation of the inner wall of pancreatic cystic lesions (PCLs) during an endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration (EUS-FNA). This study prospectively evaluated the diagnostic performance of nCLE for large, single, noncommunicating PCLs using surgical histopathology or EUS-FNA cytohistopathology as a reference diagnosis. METHODS: From April 2013 to March 2016, consecutive patients referred for EUS-FNA of indeterminate PCLs without evidence of malignancy or chronic pancreatitis were prospectively enrolled at five centers. EUS-FNA and nCLE were performed and cystic fluid was aspirated for cytohistopathological and carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) analysis. The diagnostic performance of nCLE was assessed against the reference standard and compared with that of EUS and CEA. This study was registered on ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT01563133). RESULTS: 206 patients underwent nCLE and 78 PCLs (mean size 40 mm, range 20 - 110 mm) had reference diagnoses (53 premalignant and 25 benign PCLs). Post-procedure pancreatitis occurred in 1.3 % of the patients. nCLE was conclusive in 71 of the 78 cases (91 %). The sensitivies and specifities of nCLE for the diagnosis of serous cystadenoma, mucinous PCL, and premalignant PCL were all ≥ 0.95 (with 95 % confidence interval from 0.85 to 1.0). The AUROC was significantly larger for nCLE than for CEA or EUS. CONCLUSIONS: nCLE had excellent diagnostic performance that surpassed that of CEA and EUS for the diagnosis of large, single, noncommunicating PCLs. The nCLE procedure should be considered in patients with indeterminate PCLs to ensure a more specific diagnosis.

A prospective clinical and biological database for pancreatic adenocarcinoma: the BACAP cohort.

BACKGROUND: The prognosis for pancreatic cancer remains poor despite diagnostic advances and treatments with new chemotherapeutic regimens. The five year survival rate remains below 3%. Consequently, there is an urgent need for new treatments to significantly improve the prognosis. In addition, there is a big gap in terms of the screening, early diagnosis and prevention of pancreatic cancer the incidence of which is increasing dramatically. METHODS: Design: the BACAP cohort is a prospective multicenter pancreatic cancer cohort (pancreatic ductal carcinoma) with clinical and multiple biological samples; Participating centers: 15 French academic and private hospitals; Study Population: any cytologically and/or histologically proven pancreatic carcinoma regardless of the stage (resectable, borderline, locally advanced or metastatic) or treatment (surgery, palliative chemotherapy, best supportive care). At least 1500 patients will be included. Clinical data collected include: disease presentation, epidemiological and social factors, baseline biology, radiology, endoscopic ultrasound, staging, pathology, treatments, follow-up (including biological and radiological), and survival. All these data are collected and stored through an e-observation system at a centralized data center. Biological samples and derived products (i.e. before any treatment): blood, saliva, endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration materials from the primary tumor, fine needle biopsy of metastases and surgically resected tissue. DNA and RNA are extracted from fine needle aspiration materials and are quantified and characterized for quality. Whole blood, plasma and serum are isolated from blood samples. Frozen tissues were specifically allocated to the cohort. All derived products and saliva are stored at - 80 °C. Main end-points: i) to centralize clinical data together with multiple biological samples that are harmonized in terms of sampling, the post sampling process and storage; ii) to identify new molecular markers for the diagnosis, prognosis and possibly the predictive response to pancreatic cancer surgery and or chemotherapy. DISCUSSION: The BACAP cohort is a unique prospective biological clinical database that provides the opportunity to identify correlations between the presence/expression of a broad panel of biomarkers (DNA, RNA, miRNA, proteins, etc.), epidemiological and social data, various clinical situations, various stages and the differentiation of the tumor, treatments and survival. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02818829 . Registration date: June 30, 2016.

Contrast harmonic EUS for the prediction of pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor aggressiveness (with videos).

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Contrast harmonic EUS (CH-EUS) has the ability to depict tumor microvasculature. Decreased microvascular density has been identified as a factor associated with tumor aggressiveness. We aimed to study the accuracy of CH-EUS for the prediction of pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor (PNET) aggressiveness. METHODS: Between June 2009 and March 2015, all consecutive patients with histology-proven PNETs and CH-EUS examination were included. Nine endosonographers blindly analyzed all videos. CH-EUS tumor aggressiveness was defined as a heterogeneous enhancement at the early arterial phase. The final diagnosis of tumor aggressiveness was defined as follows: G3 tumors, morphologic and/or histologic findings of metastatic disease in G1/G2 tumors. Diagnostic values were calculated. Intratumoral microvascular density and fibrosis were assessed on pathologic specimens. RESULTS: Eighty-one tumors were included, of which 26 were aggressive (32.1%). In CH-EUS 35 tumors (43.2%) had a heterogeneous enhancement. The overall accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of CH-EUS for the diagnosis of tumor aggressiveness were 86%, 96%, 82%, 71%, and 98%, respectively. The interobserver agreement among the 9 endosonographers was good (k = .66). The intraobserver agreement was excellent for the junior (κ = .83) and senior (κ = .82) endosonographers. Heterogeneous tumors at CH-EUS corresponded to fewer vascular and more fibrotic tumors (P < .01). CONCLUSIONS: CH-EUS is accurate in the prediction of PNET aggressiveness and could be a decision-making element in their management.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging Compared with Rectal Endoscopic Sonography for the Prediction of Infiltration Depth in Colorectal Endometriosis.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To compare the accuracies of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and rectal endoscopic sonography (RES) in the prediction of the infiltration depth of colorectal endometriosis. DESIGN: A retrospective cohort study (Canadian Task Force classification II-2). SETTING: A university teaching hospital. PATIENTS: Forty patients with symptomatic deep infiltrating endometriosis (DIE) of the rectum who underwent colorectal resection were included. INTERVENTIONS: All patients underwent abdominopelvic MRI and RES preoperatively to assess the infiltration depth of colorectal endometriosis, and segmental resection of the rectosigmoid by laparoscopy was performed if RES showed bowel invasion. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV), positive and negative likelihood ratios (LRs), and intermethod agreement were calculated for DIE muscularis and submucosal/mucosal infiltration confirmed by histopathological analysis. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: For MRI detection of DIE muscularis infiltration, the sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV, and negative LR were 68%, 100%, 100%, 20%, and 0.32, respectively. For the MRI detection of DIE submucosal/mucosal involvement, the sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV, and positive and negative LRs were 47%, 81%, 69%, 63%, 2.49, and 0.65, respectively. The PPV of RES detection of DIE muscularis infiltration was 93%. For the RES detection of DIE submucosal/mucosal layers, the sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV, and positive and negative LRs were 79%, 48%, 58%, 71%, 1.51, and 0.44, respectively. CONCLUSION: In the current study, MRI is valuable for detecting endometriosis of the rectum but is less accurate in detecting submucosal/mucosal involvement than RES. Magnetic resonance imaging was not successful for preoperative determination of segmental resection versus a more conservative approach. When bowel involvement is detected by MRI, RES is not essential. When symptoms suggest DIE in patients without intestinal lesions detected by MRI, RES is necessary to exclude bowel invasion.

The clinical impact of ultrasound contrast agents in EUS: a systematic review according to the levels of evidence.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: The use of contrast-harmonic EUS (CH-EUS) in routine clinical practice is increasing rapidly but is not yet standardized. We present the levels of evidence (LEs) found in the literature to put its clinical outcomes in the appropriate perspective. METHODS: We conducted a systematic review of the available English-language articles. The LEs were stratified according to the Oxford Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine guidelines. RESULTS: Overall, 210 articles were included and presented according to different pathologic conditions. For pancreatic solid neoplasms, the pooled sensitivity and specificity in the diagnosis of pancreatic carcinoma were very high (LE 1); quantitative analysis and guidance of FNA were reported as investigational research (LE 2-3). For pancreatic cystic lesions, the identification of neoplastic solid components as hyperenhanced lesions represented a promising application of CH-EUS (LE 2). For lymph nodes, CH-EUS increased the diagnostic yield of B-mode EUS for the detection of malignancy (LE 2). For submucosal tumors, CH-EUS seemed useful for differential diagnosis and risk stratification (LE 2-3). For other applications, differential diagnosis of gallbladder and vascular abnormalities by CH-EUS were reported (LE 2-3). CONCLUSIONS: The LEs of CH-EUS in the literature have evolved from the initial descriptive studies to multicenter and prospective trials, and even meta-analyses. The differential diagnosis between benign and malignant lesions is the main field of application of CH-EUS. With regard to pancreatic solid neoplasms, the concomitant use of both CH-EUS and EUS-FNA may have additive value in increasing the overall accuracy by overcoming the false-negative results associated with each individual technique. Other applications are promising but still investigational.

Endoscopic ultrasound-guided needle-based confocal laser endomicroscopy in solid pancreatic masses.

BACKGROUND AND STUDY AIMS: The differential diagnosis of solid pancreatic masses by endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration (EUS-FNA) is currently suboptimal in centers that are not equipped with rapid on-site evaluation. Needle-based confocal laser endomicroscopy (nCLE) enables real-time in vivo microscopic imaging during endoscopy. This study aimed to describe nCLE interpretation criteria for the characterization of pancreatic masses, with histopathological correlation, and to perform the first validation of these criteria. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total of 40 patients were evaluated by EUS-FNA combined with nCLE for the diagnosis of pancreatic masses. Final diagnosis was based on EUS-FNA histology and follow-up at 1 year. Five unblinded examiners defined nCLE criteria for adenocarcinoma, chronic pancreatitis, and neuroendocrine tumor (NET) using a set of video sequences from 14 patients with confirmed pathology (Step 1). These criteria were retrospectively validated by four independent, blinded examiners using sequences from 32 patients (Step 2). RESULTS: nCLE criteria were described for adenocarcinoma (dark cell aggregates, irregular vessels with leakages of fluorescein), chronic pancreatitis (residual regular glandular pancreatic structures), and NET (black cell aggregates surrounded by vessels and fibrotic areas). These criteria correlated with the histological features of the corresponding lesions. In the validation review, a conclusive nCLE result was obtained in 75 % of cases (96 % correct). Statistical evaluation provided promising results, with high specificity, and negative and positive predictive values for all types of pancreatic masses. CONCLUSION: Considering the low negative predictive value of EUS-FNA, nCLE could help to rule out malignancy after a previous inconclusive EUS-FNA. Larger studies are required to confirm these findings and to establish the role of nCLE in the diagnosis of pancreatic masses. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT01563133).

In vivo characterization of pancreatic cystic lesions by needle-based confocal laser endomicroscopy (nCLE): proposition of a comprehensive nCLE classification confirmed by an external retrospective evaluation.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: The differential diagnosis of solitary pancreatic cystic lesions is sometimes difficult. Needle-based confocal laser endomicroscopy (nCLE) performed during endoscopic ultrasound-fine-needle aspiration (EUS-FNA) enables real-time imaging of the internal structure of such cysts. Criteria have already been described for serous cystadenoma and intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm (IPMN). The aims of the study were to determine new nCLE criteria for the diagnosis of pancreatic cystic lesions, to propose a comprehensive nCLE classification for the characterization of those lesions, and to carry out a first external retrospective validation . METHODS: Thirty-three patients with a lone pancreatic cystic lesion were included (CONTACT 1 study). EUS-FNA was combined with nCLE. Diagnosis was based on either pathology result (Group 1, n = 20) or an adjudication committee consensus (Group 2, n = 13). Six investigators, unblinded, studied cases from Group 1 and identified nCLE criteria for mucinous cystic neoplasm (MCN), pseudocyst (PC), and cystic neuroendocrine neoplasm (NEN). Four external reviewers assessed, blinded, the yield and interobserver agreement for the newly identified (MCN, PC) and previously described (IPMN, SC) criteria in a subset of 31 cases. RESULTS: New nCLE criteria were described for MCN (thick gray line), PC (field of bright particles), and cystic NEN (black neoplastic cells clusters with white fibrous areas). These criteria correlated with the histological features of the corresponding lesions. In the retrospective validation, a conclusive nCLE result was obtained for 74 % of the cases (87 % "true" and 13 % "false" with respect to the final diagnosis). On this limited case series, the nCLE criteria showed a trend for high diagnostic specificity (>90 % for mucinous cysts, 100 % for non-mucinous cysts). CONCLUSIONS: Based on this newly completed atlas of interpretation criteria, nCLE could facilitate the diagnosis of pancreatic cystic lesion types.

A feasibility study of full-field optical coherence tomography for rapid evaluation of EUS-guided microbiopsy specimens.

BACKGROUND: Rapid on-site evaluation of cytologic specimens is a way of determining the adequacy of fine-needle aspiration (FNA). However, alternatives may be useful when the presence of a cytotechnologist and/or pathologist is not possible. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the feasibility of using full-field optical coherence tomography (FFOCT) for FNA specimen quality assessment. DESIGN: FFOCT images were acquired on gastric, pancreatic, pelvic, and lymph-node formalin-fixed FNA specimens and were compared with histology of the same samples. SETTING: Pathology suite in a hospital. PATIENTS: Fourteen patients undergoing gastric, pancreatic, pelvic, or lymph-node EUS-guided FNA biopsy. INTERVENTIONS: FFOCT imaging on formalin-fixed samples before histologic procedures. MAIN OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS: FFOCT imaging feasibility and visibility of normal and abnormal features on images. RESULTS: FFOCT imaging was possible. Blood, mucus, muscle, collagen, and digestive mucosa could be identified as well as abnormal architectural features including infiltrative pancreatic ductal carcinoma and a neuroendocrine neoplasm. Lesions at the individual cell level could not be detected. LIMITATIONS: The study was performed on a limited number of cases. CONCLUSION: FFOCT offers rapid, noninvasive, nondestructive imaging of FNA biopsy specimens. In the future, it could be performed in the endoscopy suite to improve detection of satisfactory specimens and obviate the need for rapid on-site evaluation.

EUS-derived criteria for distinguishing benign from malignant metastatic solid hepatic masses.

BACKGROUND: Detection of hepatic metastases during EUS is an important component of tumor staging. OBJECTIVE: To describe our experience with EUS-guided FNA (EUS-FNA) of solid hepatic masses and derive and validate criteria to help distinguish between benign and malignant hepatic masses. DESIGN: Retrospective study, survey. SETTING: Single, tertiary-care referral center. PATIENTS: Medical records were reviewed for all patients undergoing EUS-FNA of solid hepatic masses over a 12-year period. INTERVENTIONS: EUS-FNA of solid hepatic masses. MAIN OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS: Masses were deemed benign or malignant according to predetermined criteria. EUS images from 200 patients were used to create derivation and validation cohorts of 100 cases each, matched by cytopathologic diagnosis. Ten expert endosonographers blindly rated 15 initial endosonographic features of each of the 100 images in the derivation cohort. These data were used to derive an EUS scoring system that was then validated by using the validation cohort by the expert endosonographer with the highest diagnostic accuracy. RESULTS: A total of 332 patients underwent EUS-FNA of a hepatic mass. Interobserver agreement regarding the initial endosonographic features among the expert endosonographers was fair to moderate, with a mean diagnostic accuracy of 73% (standard deviation 5.6). A scoring system incorporating 7 EUS features was developed to distinguish benign from malignant hepatic masses by using the derivation cohort with an area under the receiver operating curve (AUC) of 0.92; when applied to the validation cohort, performance was similar (AUC 0.86). The combined positive predictive value of both cohorts was 88%. LIMITATIONS: Single center, retrospective, only one expert endosonographer deriving and validating the EUS criteria. CONCLUSION: An EUS scoring system was developed that helps distinguish benign from malignant hepatic masses. Further study is required to determine the impact of these EUS criteria among endosonographers of all experience.

A novel approach to the diagnosis of pancreatic serous cystadenoma: needle-based confocal laser endomicroscopy.

BACKGROUND AND STUDY AIMS: The differential diagnosis of solitary pancreatic cystic lesions is frequently difficult. Needle-based confocal laser endomicroscopy (nCLE) performed during endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration (EUS-FNA) is a new technology enabling real-time imaging of the internal structure of such cysts. The aim of this pilot study was to identify and validate new diagnostic criteria on nCLE for pancreatic cystic lesions. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total of 31 patients with a solitary pancreatic cystic lesion of unknown diagnosis were prospectively included at three centers. EUS-FNA was combined with nCLE. The final diagnosis was based on either a stringent gold standard (surgical specimen and/or positive cytopathology) or a committee consensus. Six nonblinded investigators reviewed nCLE sequences from patients with the most stringent final diagnosis, and identified a single feature that was only present in serous cystadenoma (SCA). The findings were correlated with the pathology of archived specimens. After a training session, four blinded independent observers reviewed a separate independent video set, and the yield and interobserver agreement for the criterion were assessed. RESULTS: A superficial vascular network pattern visualized on nCLE was identified as the criterion. It corresponded on pathological specimen to a dense and subepithelial capillary vascularization only seen in SCA. The accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of this sign for the diagnosis of SCA were 87 %, 69 %, 100 %, 100 %, and 82 %, respectively. Interobserver agreement was substantial (κ = 0.77). CONCLUSION: This new nCLE criterion seems highly specific for the diagnosis of SCA. The visualization of this criterion could have a direct impact on the management of patients by avoiding unnecessary surgery or follow-up.Clinicaltrials.gov NCT01563133.

Contrast-harmonic endoscopic ultrasound for the diagnosis of pancreatic adenocarcinoma: a prospective multicenter trial.

BACKGROUND AND STUDY AIMS: Histology is the gold standard for the diagnosis of pancreatic adenocarcinoma. However, the negative predictive value of endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration (EUS-FNA) for the diagnosis remains low. The aims of this prospective multicenter study were: (1) to compare the performance of contrast-harmonic EUS (CH-EUS) with that of EUS-FNA for the diagnosis of pancreatic adenocarcinoma; (2) to assess the intra- and interobserver concordances of CH-EUS. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total of 100 consecutive patients with a solid pancreatic mass of unknown origin were prospectively included at three centers (July 2009 - April 2010). All patients were examined by CH-EUS followed by EUS-FNA. Absence of vascular enhancement at CH-EUS was regarded as a sign for pancreatic adenocarcinoma. The final diagnosis (gold standard) was based on pathological examination (EUS-FNA, surgery) or 12-month follow-up.  RESULTS: The final diagnoses were: 69 adenocarcinoma, 10 neuroendocrine tumors, 13 chronic pancreatitis, and 8 other lesions. In diagnosing adenocarcinoma, CH-EUS and EUS-FNA had respective accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of 95 %, 96 %, 94 %, 97 %, and 91 %, and of 95 %, 93 %, 100 %, 100 %, and 86 % without significant difference. Five false-negative cases with EUS-FNA were correctly classified by CH-EUS. Interobserver agreement (seven endosonographers) was good (kappa 0.66). Intraobserver agreement was good to excellent (kappa 0.76 for junior, 0.90 for senior). CONCLUSIONS: The performance of CH-EUS for the diagnosis of pancreatic adenocarcinoma was excellent. The good intra- and interobserver concordances suggest an excellent reproducibility. CH-EUS could help to guide the choice between surgery and follow-up when EUS-FNA is inconclusive.

Diagnosis of gastric submucosal tumors and estimation of malignant risk of GIST by endoscopic ultrasound. Comparison between B mode and contrast-harmonic mode.

BACKGROUND: standard B-mode EUS assessment and EUS-guided tissue acquisition present sub-optimal diagnostic yield in the differential diagnosis of gastric submucosal tumors (SMTs). AIMS: to evaluate the performances of contrast-enhanced harmonic endoscopic ultrasonography (CH-EUS) to differentiate gastric SMTs and predict malignancy risk of gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST). METHODS: a retrospective analysis was performed retrieving consecutive patients with gastric SMTs who underwent EUS between 2009 and 2014. Patients with available EUS video recordings and histological diagnosis were included. De-identified videos were presented to experts who made a diagnosis on B-mode EUS and CH-EUS. RESULTS: fifty-four patients (29 female, 64-year-old) were included. Final diagnoses were 40 GISTs (8 high-grade), 9 leiomyomas, 5 rare SMTs. The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of B-mode and CH-EUS for the differential diagnosis of GIST were 95.0% vs. 85.0%, 57.1% for both techniques, and 85.2% vs. 77.8%, respectively. The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of B-mode and CH-EUS for the estimation of the malignancy GISTs risk were 62.5% vs. 100%, 83.3% vs. 82.1%, and 78.9% vs. 86.1%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: CH-EUS showed better diagnostic performance than B-mode EUS in differentiating leiomyomas and risk stratification of GIST. When considering high-grade GISTs, the addition of CH-EUS allowed an improvement in diagnostic accuracy.

Squamousness gain defines pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma hepatic metastases phenotype, and gemcitabine response.

BACKGROUND: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a dismal disease with a survival rate of less than 7%, mainly due to the hepatic metastatic spread. Despite the importance of understanding PDAC metastases, central questions remain concerning their biology and chemosensitivity. Moreover, the transcriptomic divergence between primary tumor (PT) and hepatic metastases (HM) has been poorly studied and without a clear dissection of the confounding tumoral-surrounding tissue. METHODS: Here, to unravel key biological features not biased by the surrounding tissue, we implemented a blind source separation based on independent component analysis, ProDenICA, on a treatment-naïve cohort of PDAC paired samples and a cohort of 305 resectable patients. In addition, a time-lapse experiment was performed to assess the gemcitabine chemosensitivity profile between the PT and HM. RESULTS: We identified HM's specific transcriptomic characteristics related to the upregulation of cell cycle checkpoint, mitochondria activity, and extracellular matrix reorganization, which could be associated with metastatic niche adaptation mechanisms. Furthermore, squamous lineage emerged as a key feature linked with a downregulation in the epithelial-to-mesenchymal program that can stratifies PDAC HM independent of the classical/basal-like spectrum. Remarkably, we also demonstrated that gemcitabine response is influenced by the squamous profile, being the HM more refractory to the treatment than the PT. CONCLUSIONS: These results pointed out divergent HM aspects compared to PT and allowed their stratification through the squamous lineage. Moreover, we unravel a clinical actionable squamous signature that predicts the gemcitabine response.

Common bile duct size in malignant distal obstruction and lumen-apposing metal stents: a multicenter prospective study.

Background and study aims Feasibility of EUS-guided choledochoduodenostomy (EUS-CDS) using available lumen-apposing stents (LAMS) is limited by the size of the common bile duct (CBD) (≤ 12 mm, cut-off for experts; 15 mm, cut-off for non-experts). We aimed to assess the prevalence and predictive factors associated with CBD size ≥ 12 and 15 mm in naïve patients with malignant distal biliary obstruction (MDBO). Patients and methods This was a prospective cohort study involving 22 centers with assessment of CBD diameter and subjective feasibility of the EUS-CDS performance in naïve jaundiced patients undergoing EUS evaluation for MDBO. Results A total of 491 patients (mean age 69 ±â€Š12 years) with mean serum bilirubin of 12.7 ±â€Š6.6 mg/dL entered the final analysis. Dilation of the CBD ≥ 12 and 15 mm was detected in 78.8 % and 51.9 % of cases, respectively. Subjective feasibility of EUS-CDS was expressed by endosonographers in 91.2 % for a CBD ≥ 12 mm and in 96.5 % for a CBD ≥ 15 mm. On multivariate analysis, age ( P  < 0.01) and bilirubin level ( P  ≤ 0.001) were the only factors associated with both CBD dilation ≥ 12 and ≥ 15 mm. These variables were poorly associated with the extent of duct dilation; however, based on them a prediction model could be constructed that satisfactorily predicted CBD size ≥ 12 mm in patients at least 70 years and a bilirubin level ≥ 7 mg/dL. Conclusions Our study showed that at presentation in a large cohort of patients with MDBO, EUS-CDS can be potentially performed in three quarters to half of cases by expert and less experienced endosonographers, respectively. Dedicated stents or devices with different designs able to overcome the limitations of existing electrocautery-enhanced LAMS for EUS-CDS are needed.

A New Score to Predict the Resectability of Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma: The BACAP Score.

Surgery remains the only curative treatment for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Therefore, a predictive score for resectability on diagnosis is needed. A total of 814 patients were included between 2014 and 2017 from 15 centers included in the BACAP (the national Anatomo-Clinical Database on Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma) prospective cohort. Three groups were defined: resectable (Res), locally advanced (LA), and metastatic (Met). Variables were analyzed and a predictive score was devised. Of the 814 patients included, 703 could be evaluated: 164 Res, 266 LA, and 273 Met. The median ages of the patients were 69, 71, and 69, respectively. The median survival times were 21, 15, and nine months, respectively. Six criteria were significantly associated with a lower probability of resectability in multivariate analysis: venous/arterial thrombosis (p = 0.017), performance status 1 (p = 0.032) or ≥ 2 (p = 0.010), pain (p = 0.003), weight loss ≥ 8% (p = 0.019), topography of the tumor (body/tail) (p = 0.005), and maximal tumor size 20-33 mm (p < 0.013) or >33 mm (p < 0.001). The BACAP score was devised using these criteria (http://jdlp.fr/resectability/) with an accuracy of 81.17% and an area under the receive operating characteristic (ROC) curve of 0.82 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.78; 0.86). The presence of pejorative criteria or a BACAP score < 50% indicates that further investigations and even neoadjuvant treatment might be warranted. Trial registration: NCT02818829.