Next-Generation Sequencing Analysis of Pancreatic Cancer Using Residual Liquid Cytology Specimens from Endoscopic Ultrasound-Guided Fine-Needle Biopsy: A Prospective Comparative Study with Tissue Specimens

This study evaluated the feasibility and clinical utility of liquid-based cytology (LBC) specimens via endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle biopsy (EUS-FNB) for next-generation sequencing (NGS) of pancreatic cancer (PC). We prospectively evaluated the performance of DNA extraction and NGS using EUS-FNB samples obtained from PC. Thirty-three consecutive patients with PC who underwent EUS-FNB at our hospital were enrolled. DNA samples were obtained from 96.8% of the patients. When stratified with a variant allele frequency (VAF) > 10% tumor burden, the NGS success rate was 76.7% ( = 23) in formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE), 83.3% ( = 25) in LBC, and 76.7% ( = 23) in frozen samples. The overall NGS success rate was 86.7% ( = 26) using FFPE, LBC, or frozen samples. The detection rates for the main mutated genes were as follows: 86.7% for , 73.3% for , 66.7% for , 36.7% for , and 16.7% for . LBC had the highest median value of VAF (23.5%) for and . PC mutation analysis using NGS was successfully performed using LBC compared with FFPE and frozen samples. This approach provides an alternative and affordable source of molecular testing materials.