Feasibility of new‐generation endocytoscopy for the real‐time diagnosis of ampullary lesions: A pilot study (with video)

Abstract

AbstractBackground and AimAn early and accurate diagnosis of ampullary neoplasia is crucial; however, sampling bias is still a major concern. New‐generation endocytoscopy enables real‐time visualization of cellular structures and enables an accurate pathological prediction; however, its feasibility for small ampullary lesions has never been investigated.MethodsWe developed a novel endocytoscopic (EC) classification system for ampullary lesions after an expert review and agreement from five experienced endoscopists and one pathologist. We then consecutively enrolled a total of 43 patients with an enlarged ampulla (< 3 cm), all of whom received an endocytoscopic examination. The feasibility of endocytoscopy was evaluated, and the performance of the EC classification system was then correlated with the final histopathology.ResultsIn five cases (11.6%), the endocytoscope could not approach the ampulla, and these cases were defined as technical failure. Among the remaining 38 patients, 8 had histopathology‐confirmed adenocarcinoma, 15 had adenoma, and 15 had non‐neoplastic lesions. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and accuracy of the EC classification system to diagnose ampullary neoplasias were 95.7%, 86.7%, 91.7%, 92.9%, and 92.1%, respectively. Moreover, the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and accuracy of the EC classification to diagnose ampullary cancer were 62.5%, 100%, 100%, 90.9%, and 92.1%, respectively. One case with intra‐ampullary papillary–tubular carcinoma was classified as having a non‐neoplastic lesion by endocytoscopy.ConclusionsEndocytoscopy and the novel EC classification system demonstrated good feasibility to discriminate ampullary neoplasias from non‐neoplastic lesions and may be useful for optical biopsies of clinically suspicious ampullary lesions.