Background
Few studies have defined the diagnostic value of ThinPrep pap test (a liquid-based cytology) for pancreatic samples obtained by percutaneous fine-needle aspiration (FNA). This study aimed to compare the efficacy of ThinPrep cytologic test (TCT) in screening pancreatic neoplasms to the conventional smear (CS), especially in the absence of rapid on-site evaluation (ROSE).
Methods
The study evaluated 78 patients with suspected pancreatic tumors who underwent percutaneous ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration (US-FNA) combined with CS and TCT. Final disease diagnosis was based on biopsy, surgery, or clinical progress.
Results
The sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) of TCT were 95.8%, 100%, 96.1%, 100%, 62.5%, whereas the values for CS were 90.1%, 100%, 90.8%, 100%, 41.7%, respectively. The combination of CS and TCT recorded 98.6%, 100%, 98.7%, 100%, 83.3%, respectively, for the parameters evaluated. None of the participants recorded serious complications.
Conclusions
This study shows that TCT is a more reliable tool in the detection of pancreatic neoplasms, especially for percutaneous US-FNA samples. Whereas TCT may be used as an alternative to CS in the absence of ROSE, the use of both methods in the screening process yields better results.