Differential diagnosis of solid pancreatic masses using EUS FNA is in 10MINUS SIGN 15 % of cases still challenging. Promising method, which helps to distinguish between chronic pancreatitis and cancer, is point mutations of the proto-oncogene KRAS test.
This method is not established in routine clinical practice yet.Objectives were the determination of the sensitivity of the KRAS assay using various kinds of samples of patients with pancreatic mass and testing the effect of the presence of KRAS mutations on the prognosis of survival. 147 patients underwent EUS-FNA examination of pancreatic mass, accompanied by blood sampling with subsequent separation of plasma for the detection of circulating tumor DNA. Part of biopsy sample was left native in a stabilizing solution and part as cytological smear.
Samples (native aspirates, cytological smears, plasma) were examined for the presence of KRAS mutation by heteroduplex analysis, denaturing capillary electrophoresis.