Bile duct cancers: What can EUS offer? Intraductal US, 3D-IDUS? FNA - is it possible?

Introduction

An international workshop on the clinical impact of endoscopic ultrasound in gastroenterology in conjunction with the 12^th international symposium on endoscopic ultrasonography, held in Monaco in 2000. In the workshop, new indications for EUS in the biliary tract were discussed [1]. The major application of EUS in biliary tract cancers concerns tumor staging. Accurate diagnosis of cancer extension is necessary for adequate surgical procedures. Intraductal ultrasonography (IDUS) is a reliable method that can be used for more detailed evaluation of bile duct cancer. We reported the usefulness of three-dimensional intraductal ultrasonography (3D-IDUS) for comprehensive evaluation of extension of biliary tract tumors [2]. Although EUS-guided fine needle aspiration (FNA) is performed usually in pancreatic tumors, it is not standardized in biliary tract tumors. In this report, we reviewed the usefulness of EUS, IDUS, 3D-IDUS and EUS-FNA for diagnosis and treatment of bile duct cancers.

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