Preoperative diagnosis of pancreatic carcinoma by percutaneous aspiration biopsy.

Carcinoma of the pancreas and chronic pancreatitis may be extremely difficult to differentiate by standard diagnostic methods preoperatively as well as at the operating table. Operative pancreatic biopsy may have a high morbidity, rare mortality, and can be misleading. Percutaneous aspiration biopsy may be of great potential benefit. It provides additional histological material not usually available, and an accurate diagnosis of malignancy can be made. In select patients a needless laparotomy may be avoided. It appears to be a safe procedure that should be considered in the evaluation of the patient with suspected pancreatic malignancy in which a mass lesion is demonstrated by ultrasonography, computerized tomography, angiography, or retrograde pancreatography.