Endoscopic Ultrasound (EUS): New frontier for early detection of HEPATO-PANCREATO-BILIARY CANCER

Pace Hospitals

Endoscopic Ultrasound (EUS) is a minimally invasive procedure to assess gastrointestinal and Hepato-Pancreato- Billiary diseases. A special endoscope uses high-frequency sound waves to produce detailed images of the lining and walls of your digestive tract and chest, nearby organs such as the pancreas and liver, and lymph nodes.

When combined with a procedure called fine-needle aspiration (FNA) or FNB, EUS allows sampling (biopsy) fluid and tissue from abdomen (organ / lymph node) or chest for analysis. EUS with fine-needle aspiration can be a minimally invasive alternative to exploratory surgery.

When is Endoscopic Ultrasound used?

Endoscopic ultrasound used to evaluate:

Cancer of the colon, esophagus, lung, pancreas or stomach, and ampullary and rectal cancers
Lymphoma
Neuroendocrine tumors
Pancreatitis and pancreatic cysts
Bile duct stones
Gall bladder stones
Anorectal disorders like: Fistula in ano, abscess, sphincter

EUS is used to

Assess how deeply a tumor penetrates abdominal wall in esophageal, gastric, rectal, pancreatic determine the extent (stage) of cancer, if present
Determine if cancer has spread (metastasized) to your lymph nodes or other organs
Determine lung cancer and provide precise information about non-small cell lung cancer cells, to guide treatment
Evaluate abnormal findings from imaging tests, such as chronic pancreatitis and other masses or cysts of the pancreas
Guide drainage of pancreatic pseudocyst and other abnormal collections of fluid in the abdomen
Permit precise targeting for delivering medication directly into the pancreas, liver and other organs (EUS Guided chemotherapy)
(EUS guided) therapeutic interventions for various indications like biliary and pancreatic stenting for obstructive jaundice due to various causes and pancreatic disorders (EUS guided Gastro jejunostomy)
(EUS guided) control of various cause of GI bleeding like variceal haemorrhage, (glue injection.) etc
EUS guided drainage of infected gall bladder

EUS and / or an EUS-FNA for diagnosing a colon, esophagus, lung, pancreas, stomach, pancreatic cancer was 99.1 percent accurate with 88.8 percent sensitivity and 100 percent specificity.