result and efficacy of endoscopic ultrasound guided fna in patients with solid pancreatic neoplasm

background: endosonography is a distinct method in evaluating gastrointestinal (gi) structural lesions, particularly in the pancreatobiliary system. this procedure has made a fundamental change in the diagnosis of pancreatic mass lesions through fine needle aspiration (fna). this study aims to evaluate the results and efficacy of endosonographic fine needle aspiration (eus-fna) in patients presenting with solid pancreatic masses. â  materials and methods: this was a descriptive, prospective, case series study of patients who presented with solid pancreatic masses to imam khomeini hospital, tehran, iran over a one year period (from november 20092010-) in order to determine false negative cases, patients were followed for 6 to 12 months. â  results: a total of 53 patients underwent eus-fna with no complications. the results were diagnostic in 46 (87%) cases. the majority of patients were male (68%) and 81% had a mass in the pancreatic head. cytopathology results revealed 36 (68%) adenocarcinomas, 7 (13%) other malignancies, 3 (6%) benign lesions and 7 (13%) nondiagnostic cases. the frequency of nondiagnostic results was significantly more in masses smaller than 3 cm (6 vs. 1, p â  conclusion: eus-fna is an effective and safe procedure in the histopathologic diagnosis of pancreatic tumors. â