Usefulness of core biopsy in diagnosis of pancreatic tumours

Purpose:
The aim of the study was to analyse the usefulness of core biopsy in the diagnosis of malignant neoplasms of the pancreas – sensitivity and accuracy of diagnosis, safety of the procedure, indication of factors that may increase the risk of complications after biopsy.

Material and methods:
A retrospective analysis of data was performed in a group of 100 patients diagnosed with a focal lesion of the pancreas, qualified for a core biopsy.

Results:
The results are a sensitivity of 92%, a specificity of 100%, and an accuracy of 93.3%. The incidence of more severe complications according to the Clavien-Dindo classification was 1% (one case in the material studied). The results of the analysis were compared with the results of other authors, showing similar values for the sensitivity and specificity of the method and low rates of serious complications; it also seems that the tissue material obtained by core biopsy has higher diagnostic potential than that obtained by endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration (EUS-FNA), currently considered the method of choice. In addition, the costs of transabdominal biopsy and endoscopic biopsy were compared; the lower cost of the former may be an important economic issue when choosing the biopsy method.

Conclusions:
The results show core biopsy to be a sensitive, accurate, and safe method for obtaining the tissue necessary to plan treatment in patients with pancreatic cancer.