Can EUS elastography help distinguish benign from malignant tissue?
A major limitation of endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) examination is its limited capacity to determine the exact nature of a lesion. The differential diagnosis between benign and malignant lymph nodes and focal pancreatic masses based on the EUS appearance is difficult and frequently requires EUS-guided fine needle aspiration (EUS-FNA) for confirmation of malignancy. Elastography has recently been presented as a novel technique that can be applied during ultrasound (US) examination to assess and measure tissue elasticity. Knowing that malignant tissues are generally harder than normal surrounding tissue, elastography might provide interesting clinical information to help distinguish benign from malignant tissue based on their specific tissue consistency. A research article to be published on April 7, 2009 in the World Journal of Gastroenterology addresses this question. A multicenter study was conducted and included 222 patients who underwent EUS examination with assessment of a pancreatic
