SIX-YEAR EXPERIENCE WITH DIRECT FORWARD VIEWING RADIAL-TYPE EUS IN A CLINICAL SETTING

Abstract

Early diagnosis of pancreatic cancer remains a significant challenge, and while EUS is recognized as a valuable tool for this purpose, it has not yet gained widespread adoption. Since the establishment of our clinic, we have incorporated direct forward viewing radial-type EUS to enhance the scope of pancreatic examinations, which has led to the identification of numerous pancreatic cancer cases. However, this technique was not successful in diagnosing early stage pancreatic cancer with lesions smaller than 1 cm. Additionally, gastric cancer was detected through routine observation in approximately 0.47% of cases. We believe that direct forward viewing radial-type EUS is an effective tool for clinics to simultaneously screen for both gastric and pancreatic cancers, and in this report, we share our 6-year experience with its use.