Assessment of pancreatic neoplasms: review of biopsy techniques.

Pancreatic cancer is the 4th leading cause of cancer death annually. Recent technological advances in imaging have led to non-uniformity in the evaluation of pancreatic neoplasms. The following article describes the history behind various biopsy techniques and the rationale for obtaining a biopsy of a pancreatic neoplasm and discusses the benefits and disadvantages of the various pancreatic biopsy techniques, including fine needle aspiration biopsy, Tru-cut needle biopsy, endoscopic brushings/cytology, and endoscopic ultrasound guided biopsies. A treatment algorithm for pancreatic neoplasms is then presented.