Thesis (Ph.D.) - Cairo University - Faculty of Medicine - Department of Internal Medicine

Pancreatic cancer remains one of the most lethal cancers and the fourth leading cause of cancer-related mortality in the United States, as recently reported by the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program of the National Cancer Institute. Unfortunately, most patients with pancreatic cancer die of the disease; the overall 5-year survival rate is only 5.5%. Because diagnosis is usually delayed, less than 20% of patients are even candidates for resection. Hence, early detection is essential to improving survival. (Wei W., 2013) Pancreatic cancers can arise from both the exocrine and endocrine cells. Among pancreatic tumors, about 95% develop from the exocrine portion of the pancreas,including the ductal epithelium, acinar cells, connective tissue, and lymphatic tissue. Approximately 75% of pancreatic carcinomas occur in the head or neck of the pancreas, 15-20% occurs in the body of the pancreas, and 5-10% occurs in the tail.(Dietrich, 2006) Before the development of interventional EUS, when a nonoperative tissue diagnosis of pancreatic cancer was needed, CTor transabdominal US was the technique most likely to be used. With the advent of EUS, transgastric or transduodenal FNA of pancreatic lesions can be performed, providing a valuable and useful alternative procedure for acquiring a tissue diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. (Charles C., 2006)

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