Endoscopic ultrasound-guided therapies for pancreatic solid tumors: An overview

The close proximity of the endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) probe to the pancreas, coupled with the ease with which a needle can be inserted into a pancreatic lesion, have contributed to the development of EUS-guided therapies for both adenocarcinoma and neuroendocrine pancreatic neoplasms. EUS-guided fine needle injection of different types of drugs, implantation of fiducial markers to facilitate stereotactic body radiation therapy or of radioactive seeds to perform brachytherapy, and the use of different thermal and nonthermal ablation devices and techniques have all been tested in preliminary human studies. This manuscript will present the available evidence accumulated thus far in the field of EUS-guided oncological treatment of pancreatic solid tumors, along with a look into possible future applications.