Background In unclear pancreatic lesions, a tissue sample can confirm or exclude the suspected diagnosis and help to provide an optimal treatment strategy to each patient. To date only one small study reported on the outcome of computed tomography (CT) fluoroscopy-guided biopsies of the pancreas. Purpose To evaluate technical success and diagnostic rate of all CT fluoroscopy-guided core biopsies of the pancreas performed in a single university center during a 10-year period. Material and Methods In this retrospective study we included all patients who underwent a CT fluoroscopy-guided biopsy of a pancreatic mass at our comprehensive cancer center between 2005 and 2014. All interventions were performed under local anesthesia on a 16-row or 128-row CT scanner. Technical success and diagnostic rates as well as complications and effective patient radiation dose were analyzed. Results One hundred and one patients (54 women; mean age, 63.9 ± 12.6 years) underwent a total of 104 CT fluoroscopy-guided biopsies of the pancreas. Ninety-eight of 104 interventions (94.2%) could be performed with technical success and at least one tissue sample could be obtained. In 88 of these 98 samples, a definitive pathological diagnosis, consistent with clinical success could be achieved (89.8%). Overall 19 minor and three major complications occurred during the intra- or 30-day post-interventional period and all other interventions could be performed without complications; there was no death attributable to the intervention. Conclusion CT fluoroscopy-guided biopsy of pancreatic lesions is an effective procedure characterized by a low major complication and a high diagnostic rate.
Keywords: Pancreas; biopsy; complications; computed tomography (CT); histopathology.