The Diagnostic Challenge of Evaluating Small Biopsies from the Pancreatobiliary System

Elizabeth D Thompson; M Lisa Zhang; Christopher J VandenBussche

doi:10.1016/j.path.2022.05.001

The Diagnostic Challenge of Evaluating Small Biopsies from the Pancreatobiliary System

Surg Pathol Clin. 2022 Sep;15(3):435-453. doi: 10.1016/j.path.2022.05.001. Epub 2022 Aug 2.

Authors

Elizabeth D Thompson¹, M Lisa Zhang², Christopher J VandenBussche³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Pathology, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 600 N. Wolfe St., Baltimore, MD, USA; Department of Oncology, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 600 N. Wolfe St., Baltimore, MD, USA.
² Department of Pathology, Massachusetts General Hospital, 55 Fruit St., Boston, MA 02114 USA.
³ Department of Pathology, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 600 N. Wolfe St., Baltimore, MD, USA; Department of Oncology, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 600 N. Wolfe St., Baltimore, MD, USA. Electronic address: cjvand@jhmi.edu.

PMID: 36049827
DOI: 10.1016/j.path.2022.05.001

Abstract

Examination of fine needle aspirations and small core biopsies of the pancreas can be an extremely difficult and treacherous area for the diagnostic pathologist. The pancreas often yields small and often fragmented specimens, which, in combination with the morphologic overlap between numerous neoplastic and nonneoplastic mimickers, generate multiple potential diagnostic pitfalls. The authors review this challenging topic and provide insight into resolving these pitfalls using morphologic pattern recognition and ancillary testing.

Keywords: Biopsy; Cytology; Cytopathology; Fine needle aspiration; Pancreas; Pancreatic.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Biopsy, Fine-Needle
Humans
Pancreas* / pathology
Pancreatic Neoplasms* / diagnosis
Pancreatic Neoplasms* / pathology