An update on EUS-guided ablative techniques for pancreatic cystic lesions
Devarshi R. Ardeshna, Edward Woods, Allan Tsung, Somashekar G. Krishna
Abstract
Pancreatic cystic lesions (PCLs) are increasingly being recognized due to improvements and widespread use of cross-sectional imaging. With an estimated prevalence of 15% in general population, incidentally discovered PCLs represent a dilemma in management. While pancreatectomies offer a chance of cure, the morbidity is considerable in patients with high surgical risks. More recently, EUS-guided approaches for cyst ablation are being offered in clinical trials for the management of PCLs. EUS-chemoablation studies have progressed from first investigating safety and efficacy of EUS-guided alcohol lavage to single-agent paclitaxel ablation. Recent studies have shown that alcohol lavage may not be required, and long-term resolution can be achieved by chemoablation alone. EUS-guided lauromacrogol ablation and EUS-guided radiofrequency ablation (RFA) are new techniques that have shown promising results in a few small studies. Overall, the current literature suggests that EUS-guided paclitaxel ablation has better cyst resolution rates compared to other existing minimally invasive techniques including ethanol injection, lauromacrogol ablation, or RFA. This article will review EUS-guided PCL ablation approaches and future directions the field is headed into.