Percutaneous transgastric computed tomography-guided biopsy of the pancreas using large needles

AIM:To assess the safety,yield and clinical utility of percutaneous transgastric computed tomography(CT)-guided biopsy of pancreatic tumor using large needles, in selected patients. METHODS:We reviewed 34 CT-guided biopsies in patients with pancreas mass,of whom 24(71%)had a direct path to the mass without passing through a major organ.The needle passed through the liver in one case(3%).Nine passes(26%)were made through the stomach.These nine transgastric biopsies which used a coaxial technique(i.e.a 17-gauge coaxial introducer needle and an 18-gauge biopsy needle)were the basis of this study.Immediate and late follow-up CT images to detect complications were obtained. RESULTS:Tumor tissues were obtained in nine pancreatic biopsies,and histologic specimens for diagnosis were obtained in all cases.One patient,who had a rare sarco-matoid carcinoma,received a second biopsy.One patient had a complication of transient pneumoperitoneum but no subjective complaints.An immediate imaging study and clinical follow-up detected neither hemorrhage nor peritonitis.No delayed procedure-related complication was seen during the survival period of our patients.CONCLUSION:Pancreatic biopsy can be obtained by a transgastric route using a large needle as an alternative method,without complications of peritonitis or bleeding.

Endoscopic ultrasound guided liver biopsy: Recent evidence

Liver biopsy(LB)is an essential tool in diagnosing,evaluating and managing various diseases of the liver.As such,histopathological results are critical as they establish or aid in diagnosis,provide information on prognosis,and guide the appropriate selection of medical therapy for patients.Indications for LB include evaluation of persistent elevation of liver chemistries of unclear etiology,diagnosis of chronic liver diseases such as Wilson's disease,autoimmune hepatitis,small duct primary sclerosing cholangitis,work up of fever of unknown origin,amyloidosis and more.Traditionally,methods of acquiring liver tissue have included percutaneous LB(PCLB),transjugular LB(TJLB)or biopsy taken surgically via laparotomy or laparoscopy.However,traditional methods of LB may be inferior to newer methods.Additionally,PCLB and TJLB carry higher risks of adverse events and complications.More recently,endoscopic ultrasound guided LB(EUS-LB)has evolved as an alternative method of tissue sampling that has proven to be safe and effective,with limited adverse events.Compared to PC and TJ routes,EUS-LB may also have a greater diagnostic yield of tissue,be superior for a targeted approach of focal lesions,provide higher quality images and allow for greater patient comfort.These advantages have contributed to the increased use of EUS-LB as a technique for obtaining liver tissue.Herein,we provide a review of the recent evidence of EUS-LB for liver disease.

Percutaneous ultrasound-guided coaxial core needle biopsy for the diagnosis of multiple splenic lesions: A case report

BACKGROUND The overlap of imaging manifestations among distinct splenic lesions gives rise to a diagnostic dilemma.Consequently,a definitive diagnosis primarily relies on his-tological results.The ultrasound(US)-guided coaxial core needle biopsy(CNB)not only procures sufficient tissue to help clarify the diagnosis,but reduces the incidence of puncture-related complications.CASE SUMMARY A 41-year-old female,with a history of pulmonary tuberculosis,was admitted to our hospital with multiple indeterminate splenic lesions.Gray-scale ultrasono-graphy demonstrated splenomegaly with numerous well-defined hypoechoic ma-sses.Abdominal contrast-enhanced computed tomography(CT)showed an en-larged spleen with multiple irregular-shaped,peripherally enhancing,hypodense lesions.Positron emission CT revealed numerous abnormal hyperglycemia foci.These imaging findings strongly indicated the possibility of infectious disease as the primary concern,with neoplastic lesions requiring exclusion.To obtain the precise pathological diagnosis,the US-guided coaxial CNB of the spleen was ca-rried out.The patient did not express any discomfort during the procedure.CONCLUSION Percutaneous US-guided coaxial CNB is an excellent and safe option for obtaining precise splenic tissue samples,as it significantly enhances sample yield for exact pathological analysis with minimum trauma to the spleen parenchyma and sur-rounding tissue.

Patterns of kidney diseases diagnosed by kidney biopsy and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in Yogyakarta,Indonesia:A single-center study

BACKGROUND Glomerular diseases rank third among the causes of chronic kidney disease worldwide and in Indonesia,and its burden continues to increase,especially regarding the sociodemographic index.Kidney biopsy remains the gold standard for the diagnosis and classification of glomerular diseases.It is crucial for developing treatment plans,determining the degree of histologic changes,and identifying disease relapse.AIM To describe the patterns of biopsy-proven kidney diseases in adult patients.METHODS We retrospectively reviewed the demographic,histopathologic,clinical,and laboratory data of 75 adult patients with biopsy-proven kidney diseases at our institution recorded from 2017 to 2022.RESULTS Among the patients,43(57.3%)were females,and the mean age was 31.52 years±11.70 years.The most common histopathologies were lupus nephritis(LN)(33.3%),minimal change disease(MCD)(26.7%),and focal segmental glomerulosclerosis(10.7%).LN(41.7%)was frequently diagnosed in women and MCD(28.1%)in men.The most common cause of nephritic syndrome was LN(36.7%)and of nephrotic syndrome was MCD(40%).CONCLUSION Different kidney disease patterns were observed in different sexes,age categories,clinical syndromes,and biopsy dates relative to the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.

Comparison of Cognitive Registration Transrectal Ultrasound-Guided Targeted Biopsy of Prostate to Systematic 12-Core Biopsy: A Retrospective, Multicentre Study

Introduction: Prostate cancer (PCa) is the third most prevalent cancer among Malaysian males, often diagnosed at advanced stages, leading to suboptimal outcomes. While transrectal ultrasound-guided systematic biopsy (TRUS-SB) is the primary diagnostic method, prebiopsy multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging (mpMRI) is gaining popularity in identifying suspicious lesions. This study addresses the lack of comprehensive investigations into the efficacy of cognitive registration TRUS targeted biopsy (COG-TB) compared to conventional TRUS-SB, considering the resource limitations of the Malaysian healthcare system. Materials and Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted in two Malaysian healthcare facilities. 116 adult patients with a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level of more than 4 ng/mL who underwent both COG-TB and TRUS-SB between October 2020 and March 2022 were included. Primary outcomes were cancer detection rate and histopathological outcomes, including Gleason score. Results: COG-TB showed a higher overall cancer detection rate (50%) compared to TRUS-SB (44%). Clinically significant cancer detection rates were similar between COG-TB and TRUS-SB (37.1%). Further analysis revealed that both COG-TB and TRUS-SB detected clinically significant cancer in 30.2% of patients, did not detect it in 56.0%, and had conflicting findings in 16 patients (p Conclusion: COG-TB and TRUS-SB have comparable detection rates for clinically significant prostate cancer, with COG-TB showing a higher tendency to detect insignificant prostate cancer. Further studies comparing these methods are warranted.

Update on endoscopic ultrasound-guided liver biopsy

Endoscopic ultrasound guided liver biopsy(EUS-LB)has emerged as a minimally-invasive alternative to the traditional(percutaneous or transjugular)liver biopsy techniques for the diagnosis of liver parenchymal diseases.Potentially,EUS-LB combines the advantages of percutaneous and transjugular liver biopsy in addressing focused sampling in addition to measuring portal pressure.Additionally,EUS-LB facilitates access to both the lobes of the liver which is not considered with the traditional percutaneous liver biopsy.Multiple studies have compared EUS-LB with conventional liver biopsy and reported comparable diagnostic yield,increased acquisition of complete portal tracts,and longer specimen length as compared to the traditional approaches.EUS-LB is associated with lesser post-procedural pain and shorter recovery time,while providing lower risk of complications when compared to traditional liver biopsy.Innovations in needle types,needle sizes and suction techniques have aimed at further optimizing the EUS-LB technique.This review article updates current literature with focus on the variations in the technique and equipment used for EUS-LB,and compares EUS-LB with traditional methods of liver biopsy.

Circulating tumor DNA in liquid biopsy: Current diagnostic limitation

With the rapid development of science and technology,cell-free DNA(cfDNA)is rapidly becoming an important biomarker for tumor diagnosis,monitoring and prognosis,and this cfDNA-based liquid biopsy technology has great potential to become an important part of precision medicine.cfDNA is the total amount of free DNA in the systemic circulation,including DNA fragments derived from tumor cells and all other somatic cells.Tumor cells release fragments of DNA into the bloodstream,and this source of cfDNA is called circulating tumor DNA(ctDNA).cfDNA detection has become a major focus in the field of tumor research in recent years,which provides a new opportunity for non-invasive diagnosis and prognosis of cancer.In this paper,we discuss the limitations of the study on the origin and dynamics analysis of ctDNA,and how to solve these problems in the future.Although the future faces major challenges,it also con-tains great potential.

Magnetic resonance imaging-guided prostate biopsydA review of literature

Objective:Multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging(MP-MRI)helps to identify lesion of prostate with reasonable accuracy.We aim to describe the various uses of MP-MRI for prostate biopsy comparing different techniques of MP-MRI guided biopsy.Materials and methods:A literature search was performed for“multiparametric MRI”,“MRI fusion biopsy”,“MRI guided biopsy”,“prostate biopsy”,“MRI cognitive biopsy”,“MRI fusion biopsy systems”,“prostate biopsy”and“cost analysis”.The search operation was performed using the operator“OR”and“AND”with the above key words.All relevant systematic reviews,original articles,case series,and case reports were selected for this review.Results:The sensitivity of MRI targeted biopsy(MRI-TB)is between 91%e93%,and the specificity is between 36%e41%in various studies.It also has a high negative predictive value(NPV)of 89%e92%and a positive predictive value(PPV)of 51%e52%.The yield of MRI fusion biopsy(MRI-FB)is similar,if not superior to MR cognitive biopsy.In-bore MRI-TB had better detection rates compared to MR cognitive biopsy,but were similar to MR fusion biopsy.Conclusions:The use of MRI guidance in prostate biopsy is inevitable,subject to availability,cost,and experience.Any one of the three modalities(i.e.MRI cognitive,MRI fusion and MRI in-bore approach)can be used.MRI-FB has a fine balance with regards to accuracy,practicality and affordability.

Emerging role of liquid biopsy in rat sarcoma virus mutated metastatic colorectal cancer:A case report

BACKGROUND In patients with metastatic colorectal cancer(mCRC),the treatment options are limited and have been proved to be affected by rat sarcoma virus(RAS)mutational status.In RAS wild-type(wt)patients,the combination of antiepidermal growth factor receptor(EGFR)monoclonal antibodies with chemotherapy(CT)is more effective than CT alone.On the other hand,RAS-mutated patients are not eligible for treatment with anti-EGFR antibodies.CASE SUMMARY Eleven patients with initially RAS-mutated mCRC were followed from diagnosis to May 2022.At the time of cell-free DNA determination,five patients had undergone one CT line,five patients had undergone two CT lines,and one patient had undergone three CT lines(all in combination with bevacizumab).At the second and third treatment lines[second line(2L),third line(3L)],patients with neo-RAS wt received a combination of CT and cetuximab.In neo-RAS wt patients treated with anti-EGFR,our findings indicated an increase in progression-free survival for both 2L and 3L(14.5 mo,P=0.119 and 3.9 mo,P=0.882,respectively).Regarding 2L overall survival,we registered a slight increase in neo-RAS wt patients treated with anti-EGFR(33.6 mo vs 32.4 mo,P=0.385).At data cut-off,two patients were still alive:A RAS-mutated patient undergoing 3L treatment and a neo-RAS wt patient who received 2L treatment with anti-EGFR(ongoing).CONCLUSION Our case series demonstrated that monitoring RAS mutations in mCRC by liquid biopsy may provide an additional treatment line for neo-RAS wt patients.

Phase II Clinical Study of Three-Dimensional Printed Coplanar Template Combined with CT-Guided Percutaneous Core Needle Biopsy of Pulmonary Nodules in Elderly Patients

Background: As the population age structure gradually ages, more and more elderly people were found to have pulmonary nodules during physical examinations. Most elderly people had underlying diseases such as heart, lung, brain and blood vessels and cannot tolerate surgery. Computed tomography (CT)-guided percutaneous core needle biopsy (CNB) was the first choice for pathological diagnosis and subsequent targeted drugs, immune drugs or ablation treatment. CT-guided percutaneous CNB requires clinicians with rich CNB experience to ensure high CNB accuracy, but it was easy to cause complications such as pneumothorax and hemorrhage. Three-dimensional (3D) printing coplanar template (PCT) combined with CT-guided percutaneous pulmonary CNB biopsy has been used in clinical practice, but there was no prospective, randomized controlled study. Methods: Elderly patients with lung nodules admitted to the Department of Oncology of our hospital from January 2019 to January 2023 were selected. A total of 225 elderly patients were screened, and 30 patients were included after screening. They were randomly divided into experimental group (Group A: 30 cases) and control group (Group B: 30 cases). Group A was given 3D-PCT combined with CT-guided percutaneous pulmonary CNB biopsy, Group B underwent CT-guided percutaneous pulmonary CNB. The primary outcome measure of this study was the accuracy of diagnostic CNB, and the secondary outcome measures were CNB time, number of CNB needles, number of pathological tissues and complications. Results: The diagnostic accuracy of group A and group B was 96.67% and 76.67%, respectively (P = 0.026). There were statistical differences between group A and group B in average CNB time (P = 0.001), number of CNB (1 vs more than 1, P = 0.029), and pathological tissue obtained by CNB (3 vs 1, P = 0.040). There was no statistical difference in the incidence of pneumothorax and hemorrhage between the two groups (P > 0.05). Conclusions: 3D-PCT combined with CT-guided percutaneous CNB can improve the puncture accuracy of elderly patients, shorten the puncture time, reduce the number of punctures, and increase the amount of puncture pathological tissue, without increasing pneumothorax and hemorrhage complications. We look forward to verifying this in a phase III randomized controlled clinical study. .

Effectiveness of Histopathological Examination of Ultrasound-guided Puncture Biopsy Samples for Diagnosis of Extrapulmonary Tuberculosis

Objective To evaluate the diagnostic value of histopathological examination of ultrasound-guided puncture biopsy samples in extrapulmonary tuberculosis(EPTB).Methods This study was conducted at the Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center.A total of 115patients underwent ultrasound-guided puncture biopsy,followed by MGIT 960 culture(culture),smear,Gene Xpert MTB/RIF(Xpert),and histopathological examination.These assays were performed to evaluate their effectiveness in diagnosing EPTB in comparison to two different diagnostic criteria:liquid culture and composite reference standard(CRS).Results When CRS was used as the reference standard,the sensitivity and specificity of culture,smear,Xpert,and histopathological examination were(44.83%,89.29%),(51.72%,89.29%),(70.11%,96.43%),and(85.06%,82.14%),respectively.Based on liquid culture tests,the sensitivity and specificity of smear,Xpert,and pathological examination were(66.67%,72.60%),(83.33%,63.01%),and(92.86%,45.21%),respectively.Histopathological examination showed the highest sensitivity but lowest specificity.Further,we found that the combination of Xpert and histopathological examination showed a sensitivity of 90.80%and a specificity of 89.29%.Conclusion Ultrasound-guided puncture sampling is safe and effective for the diagnosis of EPTB.Compared with culture,smear,and Xpert,histopathological examination showed higher sensitivity but lower specificity.The combination of histopathology with Xpert showed the best performance characteristics.

Liquid biopsy for gastric cancer:Techniques,applications,and future directions

After the study of circulating tumor cells in blood through liquid biopsy(LB),this technique has evolved to encompass the analysis of multiple materials originating from the tumor,such as nucleic acids,extracellular vesicles,tumor-educated platelets,and other metabolites.Additionally,research has extended to include the examination of samples other than blood or plasma,such as saliva,gastric juice,urine,or stool.LB techniques are diverse,intricate,and variable.They must be highly sensitive,and pre-analytical,patient,and tumor-related factors significantly influence the detection threshold,diagnostic method selection,and potential results.Consequently,the implementation of LB in clinical practice still faces several challenges.The potential applications of LB range from early cancer detection to guiding targeted therapy or immunotherapy in both early and advanced cancer cases,monitoring treatment response,early identification of relapses,or assessing patient risk.On the other hand,gastric cancer(GC)is a disease often diagnosed at advanced stages.Despite recent advances in molecular understanding,the currently available treatment options have not substantially improved the prognosis for many of these patients.The application of LB in GC could be highly valuable as a non-invasive method for early diagnosis and for enhancing the management and outcomes of these patients.In this comprehensive review,from a pathologist’s perspective,we provide an overview of the main options available in LB,delve into the fundamental principles of the most studied techniques,explore the potential utility of LB application in the context of GC,and address the obstacles that need to be overcome in the future to make this innovative technique a game-changer in cancer diagnosis and treatment within clinical practice.

Changes in macrophage infiltration and podocyte injury in lupus nephritis patients with repeated renal biopsy: Report of three cases

BACKGROUND In this study,we retrospectively analysed macrophage infiltration and podocyte injury in three patients with diffuse proliferative lupus nephritis(LN)who un-derwent repeated renal biopsy.CASE SUMMARY Clinical data of three diffuse proliferative LN patients with different pathological characteristics(case 1 was LN IV-G(A),case 2 was LN IV-G(A)+V,and case 3 was LN IV-G(A)+thrombotic microangiopathy)were reviewed.All patients underwent repeated renal biopsies 6 mo later,and renal biopsy specimens were studied.Macrophage infiltration was assessed by CD68 expression detected by immunohistochemical staining,and an immunofluorescence assay was used to detect podocin expression to assess podocyte damage.After treatment,Case 1 changed to LN III-(A),Case 2 remained as type V LN lesions,and Case 3,which changed to LN IV-S(A),had the worst prognosis.We observed reduced macro-phage infiltration after therapy.However,two of the patients with active lesions after treatment still showed macrophage infiltration in the renal interstitium.Before treatment,the three patients showed discontinuous expression of podocin.Notably,the integrity of podocin was restored after treatment in Case 1.CONCLUSION It may be possible to reverse podocyte damage and decrease the infiltrating ma-crophages in LN patients through effective treatment.

Evaluating the efficacy of percutaneous puncture biopsy guided by contrast-enhanced ultrasound for peripheral pulmonary lesions

BACKGROUND The incidence and mortality of lung cancer have increased annually.Accurate diagnosis can help improve therapeutic efficacy of interventions and prognosis.Percutaneous lung biopsy is a reliable method for the clinical diagnosis of lung cancer.Ultrasound-guided percutaneous lung biopsy technology has been widely promoted and applied in recent years.AIM To investigate the diagnostic value of contrast-enhanced ultrasound(CEUS)-guided percutaneous biopsy in peripheral pulmonary lesions.METHODS We retrospectively collected data on 237 patients with peripheral thoracic focal lesions who underwent puncture biopsy at Wuxi People’s Hospital.The patients were randomly divided into two groups:The CEUS-guided before lesion puncture group(contrast group)and conventional ultrasound-guided group(control group).Analyze the diagnostic efficacy of the puncture biopsy,impact of tumor size,and number of puncture needles and complications were analyzed and compared between the two groups.RESULTS Accurate pathological results were obtained for 92.83%(220/237)of peripheral lung lesions during the first biopsy,with an accuracy rate of 95.8%(113/118)in the contrast group and 89.9%(107/119)in the control group.The difference in the area under the curve(AUC)between the contrast and the control groups was not statistically significant(0.952 vs 0.902,respectively;P>0.05).However,when the lesion diameter≥5 cm,the diagnostic AUC of the contrast group was higher than that of the control group(0.952 vs 0.902,respectively;P<0.05).In addition,the average number of puncture needles in the contrast group was lower than that in the control group(2.58±0.53 vs 2.90±0.56,respectively;P<0.05).CONCLUSION CEUS guidance can enhance the efficiency of puncture biopsy of peripheral pulmonary lesions,especially for lesions with a diameter≥5 cm.Therefore,CEUS guidance has high clinical diagnostic value in puncture biopsy of peripheral focal lung lesions.

Strategic insights into the cultivation of pancreatic cancer organoids from endoscopic ultrasonography-guided biopsy tissue

BACKGROUND The frequent suboptimal efficacy of endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle biopsy(EUS-FNB)to culture pancreatic cancer(PC)organoids(PCOs)poses a major challenge in the advancement of personalized medicine for advanced PC.AIM To explore how to obtain appropriate puncture tissues from EUS-FNB and optimize the strategy for efficiently constructing PCOs,providing an efficient tool for the advancement of personalized medicine.METHODS Patients who underwent EUS-FNB for the diagnosis of PC tissue were prospectively enrolled.We refined the endoscopic biopsy procedures and organoid cultivation techniques.All tissue specimens verified by on-site pathological assessment were cultured in a semi-suspended medium in a microfluidic environment.We assessed differences in PCOs cultured beyond and below five generations examining patient demographics,specimen and organoid attributes,and the sensitivity of organoids to a panel of clinical drugs through cell viability assays.RESULTS In this study,16 patients with PC were recruited,one sample was excluded because onsite cytopathology showed no tumor cells.Successful organoid generation occurred in 93.3%(14 of 15)of the EUS-FNB specimens,with 60%(9 of 15)sustaining over five generations.Among these patients,those with a history of diabetes,familial cancer,or larger tumors exhibited enhanced PCO expandability.The key factors influencing longterm PCOs expansion included initial needle sample quality(P=0.005),rapid initiation of organoid culture postisolation(P≤0.001),and high organoid activity(P=0.031).Drug sensitivity analysis revealed a partial response in two patients following therapeutic intervention and surgery and stable disease in four patients,indicating a moderate correlation between organoid response and clinical outcomes.CONCLUSION Optimal initial needle sampling,rapid and precise biopsy sample processing,process isolated samples as soon as possible,and sufficient cellular material are crucial for successful cultivating PCOs.High organoid activity is an important factor in maintaining their long-term expansion,which is essential for shortening the time of drug sensitivity analysis and is the basis of PC research.

Integrating Transformer and Bidirectional Long Short-Term Memory for Intelligent Breast Cancer Detection from Histopathology Biopsy Images

Breast cancer is a significant threat to the global population,affecting not only women but also a threat to the entire population.With recent advancements in digital pathology,Eosin and hematoxylin images provide enhanced clarity in examiningmicroscopic features of breast tissues based on their staining properties.Early cancer detection facilitates the quickening of the therapeutic process,thereby increasing survival rates.The analysis made by medical professionals,especially pathologists,is time-consuming and challenging,and there arises a need for automated breast cancer detection systems.The upcoming artificial intelligence platforms,especially deep learning models,play an important role in image diagnosis and prediction.Initially,the histopathology biopsy images are taken from standard data sources.Further,the gathered images are given as input to the Multi-Scale Dilated Vision Transformer,where the essential features are acquired.Subsequently,the features are subjected to the Bidirectional Long Short-Term Memory(Bi-LSTM)for classifying the breast cancer disorder.The efficacy of the model is evaluated using divergent metrics.When compared with other methods,the proposed work reveals that it offers impressive results for detection.

Core needle biopsy for thyroid nodules assessment-a new horizon?

Ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration is the standard for evaluating thyroid nodules with a high safety profile and a relatively low number of non-diagnostic cytological findings.Nevertheless,this diagnostic method traditionally has its weak points.Several diagnostic categories such as BethesdaⅠ,ⅢandⅣare not reliable for thyroid carcinoma risk assessment.Recent advancements in a core needle biopsy made it possible to use this tool as a new method for thyroid nodules evaluation.The main feature of this method is the use of thin needles(18-21G)and guns with an automatic trigger mechanism.The histological material collected with the use of a core needle biopsy is usually superior to cytological.Therefore,the core needle biopsy can be used as a complementary technique to a standard fine needle aspiration in difficult and dubious cases of thyroid neoplasia with uncertain malignant potential.

A Set of Acupuncture Needles in the Late Qing Dynasty Collected by George Souliéde Morant

In the early 20th century,French vice-consul George Souliéde Morant encountered acupuncture during his visit to China,and then brought it back to France.After more than a century,his collection was transported from Paris,France to Kunming,China,and later recognized as a Chinese national third-class precious cultural heritage.Currently housed in the Museum of Western Studies on Chinese Medicine at Yunnan University of Chinese Medicine,this set of instruments includes one needle holder converted from a fan-shaped holder,ten acupuncture needles,and eleven paper tags handwritten in English with names of diseases and body parts.This article attempts to present the foundational information and historical significance of this collection of this set of late Qing dynasty acupuncture instruments by reviewing the collection and related research on acupuncture instruments,consulting acupuncture professionals,measuring the detailed information of the set of instruments,and employing a method of translating and summarizing the content of the attached tags.

Liver biopsy in the post-hepatitis C virus era in Japan

In Japan,liver biopsies were previously crucial in evaluating the severity of hepatitis caused by the hepatitis C virus(HCV)and diagnosing HCV-related hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC).However,due to the development of effective antiviral treatments and advanced imaging,the necessity for biopsies has significantly decreased.This change has resulted in fewer chances for diagnosing liver disease,causing many general pathologists to feel less confident in making liver biopsy diagnoses.This article provides a comprehensive overview of the challenges and potential solutions related to liver biopsies in Japan.First,it highlights the importance of considering steatotic liver diseases as independent conditions that can coexist with other liver diseases due to their increasing prevalence.Second,it emphasizes the need to avoid hasty assumptions of HCC in nodular lesions,because clinically diagnosable HCCs are not targets for biopsy.Third,the importance of diagnosing hepatic immune-related adverse events caused by immune checkpoint inhibitors is increasing due to the anticipated widespread use of these drugs.In conclusion,pathologists should be attuned to the changing landscape of liver diseases and approach liver biopsies with care and attention to detail.

Role of macroscopic on-site evaluation of endoscopic ultrasoundguided fine-needle aspiration/biopsy:Results of a multicentric prospective study

BACKGROUND The concept of macroscopic on-site evaluation(MOSE)was introduced in 2015 when the endoscopist observed better diagnostic yield when the macroscopically visible core on MOSE was superior to 4 mm.Recent studies suggest that MOSE by the endoscopist may be an excellent alternative to rapid on-site evaluation,and some classi-fications have been published.Few studies have assessed the adequacy of histologic cores in MOSE during endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration/biopsy(EUS-FNA/FNB).AIM To evaluate the performance of MOSE during EUS-FNA/FNB.METHODS This multicentric prospective study was conducted in 16 centers in 3 countries(Egypt,Iraq,and Morocco)and included 1108 patients with pancreatic,biliary,or gastrointestinal pathology who were referred for EUS examination.We prospectively analyzed the MOSE in 1008 patients with available histopathological reports according to 2 classifications to determine the adequacy of the histological core samples.Data management and analysis were performed using a Statistical Package for Social Sciences(SPSS)version 27.RESULTS A total of 1074 solid lesions were biopsied in 1008 patients with available cytopathological reports.Mean age was 59 years,and 509 patients(50.5%)were male.The mean lesion size was 38 mm.The most frequently utilized needles were FNB-Franseen(74.5%)and 22 G(93.4%),with a median of 2 passes.According to 2 classifications,618 non-bloody cores(61.3%)and 964 good samples(95.6%)were adequate for histological evaluation.The overall diagnostic yield of cytopathology was 95.5%.The cytological examination confirmed the diagnosis of malignancy in 861 patients(85.4%),while 45 samples(4.5%)were inconclusive.Post-procedural adverse events occurred in 33 patients(3.3%).Statistical analysis showed a difference between needle types(P=0.035)with a high sensitivity of FNB(97%).The analysis of the relationship between the MOSE-score and the final diagnosis showed a significant difference between the different scores of the MOSE(P<0.001).CONCLUSION MOSE is a simple method that allows endoscopists to increase needle passes to improve sample quality.There is significantly higher FNB sensitivity and cytopathology diagnostic yield with good MOSE cores.