Abstracto

Impact of preoperative endoscopic ultrasound in surgical oncology

Sascha S Chopra and Michael Hünerbein

Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) has a strong impact on the imaging and staging of solid tumors within or in close proximity of the upper GI tract. Technological developments during the last two decades have increased the image quality and allowed very detailed visualization of local tumor spread and lymph node affection. Current indications for EUS of the upper GI tract encompass the differentiation between benign and malignant lesions, the staging of esophageal, gastric and pancreatic cancer, and the procurement of a biopsy specimen through fine-needle aspiration. Various technical innovations during the past two decades have increased the diagnostic quality and have simultaneously strengthened the role of EUS in the clinical setting. This article will give a compressed summary on the current state of EUS and possible further technical developments.