Endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle biopsy of small solid pancreatic lesions using a 22-gauge needle with side fenestration.

Background Early detection of small pancreatic cancer is important because expected survival is markedly better for tumors ≤2 cm. A new endoscopic ultrasound-(EUS) guided biopsy needle with side fenestration has been recently developed to enable fine-needle biopsy (FNB) under EUS guidance. The aim of this study was to evaluate the outcome of EUS–FNB using a 22-gauge ProCore needle in solid pancreatic lesions ≤2 cm, in terms of diagnostic accuracy and yield.