Our findings are still consistent with ultrasound being useful as a low cost screening tool. “
“Patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) are at increased risk for developing cholangiocarcinoma (CCA). Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) is a cytological test designed to enhance early CCA diagnosis. The long-term outcome of PSC patients with a positive FISH test (polysomy, trisomy/tetrasomy) are unclear. All PSC patients with at least one FISH

test were identified and defined to have CCA if they had a positive tissue biopsy, positive cytology, or evidence of cancer in the explant after liver transplantation. A total of 235 PSC patients had at least one FISH test performed, and 56 patients had CCA on histopathology (n = 35) or cytology (n = 21). Overall, 120 of 235 (51%) of PSC patients tested for FISH were positive, but only one third of these positive patients had CCA. selleck screening library Sensitivity and specificity for FISH polysomy were 46% and 88%, and for trisomy/tetrasomy they were 25% and 67%, respectively. Survival analysis showed that patients with FISH polysomy had an outcome similar to patients with Rapamycin clinical trial CCA; whereas FISH trisomy/tetrasomy patients had an outcome similar to patients with negative FISH tests. The FISH polysomy

patients without cancer compared with those with CCA had lower serum bilirubin, lower carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA 19-9), lower Mayo risk score, Isoconazole and lower occurrence of dominant strictures. Conclusion: In PSC patients, the presence of a dominant stricture plus FISH polysomy has a specificity of 88% for CCA. Patients with FISH showing trisomy or tetrasomy have a similar outcome to patients with negative FISH. FISH testing should be used selectively in patients with other signs indicating CCA and not as a screening tool in all PSC patients undergoing endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP). (HEPATOLOGY 2009.) Primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) carries an increased

risk of hepatobiliary malignancy, especially cholangiocarcinoma (CCA), which also is the most lethal complication of PSC.1 There are no specific clinical features that predict the diagnosis of CCA.2–9 The lifetime occurrence of CCA in PSC patients varies from 5% to 36%.2–6 The factors that predispose PSC patients to develop CCA are unknown and unpredictable, which makes it very challenging to diagnose CCA early. The combination of an annual ultrasound and the tumor marker carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA 19-9) was found to be useful in early detection of CCA.9 If there are any suspicious findings, these patients are subjected to endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP). During ERCP, brush cytology and biopsy specimens are obtained from dominant strictures to confirm or exclude the diagnosis of CCA.