Utilidad de la ultrasonografía endoscópica y de la punción guiada por ultrasonografía endoscópica en el diagnóstico y estadificación de pacientes con neoplasias digestivas y pulmonares

Resumen

Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) consists in a high-frequency transducer placed at the tip of an endoscope. This technique permits to obtain high-resolution transmural sonographic images of the intestinal wall and surrounding structures. Moreover, it is possible to obtain cytological material from lesions located around the intestinal wall by means of FNA guided by EUS. EUS and EUS-FNA have become well-established procedures for diagnosing and staging both gastrointestinal and lung cancer as well as to study the pancreas. The aims of the present Doctoral Thesis were:1) to assess the predictive variables of malignancy in EUS, and the impact of EUS in patients with large gastric folds at endoscopy and endoscopic biopsies negative for malignancy; 2) To evaluate factors that permit to obtain a correct diagnosis by EUS-FNA and to establish the usefulness of disposing of an attendant pathologist; 3) To establish the usefulness of KRAS mutational analysis in the diagnosis of pancreatic adenocarcinoma by comparing this technique with conventional cytology in aspirates obtained by means of EUS-FNA; and, 4) to evaluate whether hypermethylation gene promoter analysis was feasible on samples obtained by EUS-FNA from lymph nodes, as well as to establish the usefulness of this strategy for the detection of micrometastases in patients with gastrointestinal and non-small cell lung cancer. Results obtained permitted to conclude that: 1) the enlargement of deep layers is the only independent predictive factor for malignancy in patients with large gastric folds at endoscopy and biopsies negative for malignancy and that EUS has a high clinical impact in these patients; 2) The availability of an attendant pathologist seems to increase the diagnostic yield of the FNA, minimizing the number of passes and resulting in a cost-effective strategy. In absence of on-site evaluation the number of passes to perform should be 3 to 4 depending on the type of lesion; 3) Cytology from aspirates obtained by EUS-FNA is the most precise single technique for the diagnosis of pancreatic adenocarcinoma. However, when adequate specimens are not available to reach a cytological diagnosis, the addition of KRAS mutational analysis represents the best strategy; and, 4) It is feasible to detect occult neoplastic cells in EUS-FNA samples by hypermethylation gene promoter analysis. Moreover, addition of methylation analysis to conventional cytology may increase its sensitivity at the expenses of a decrease in its specificity."