The CONTACT study (Clinical evaluation Of NCLE in The lymph nodes Along with masses and Cystic Tumors of the pancreas) aims at building an

image atlas, and define interpretation criteria for nCLE images in the lymph nodes, within the frame of cancer staging. Methods: 3 centres in France (7 investigators) took part in this prospective study. Any suspicious lymph node studied by EUSFNA, with a size superior to 5 mm, could be imaged by nCLE, but if a patient had multiple lymph nodes, only one of them could be imaged. The definition of the preliminary interpretation criteria was done by consensus, LDK378 with 5 investigators, including one pathologist. 17 patients with suspicious lymph node were included over 8 months (August 2012 to March 2013) and the recorded nCLE sequences for each of these patients were reviewed. For each case, the investigators had the following data: patient’s clinical history, information on the EUS procedure preceding nCLE imaging, cytology, histology findings, nCLE sequences, and, in certain cases, histological images. When reviewing the video sequences, they were asked to identify characteristic descriptive criteria, and correlate them with a final diagnosis if possible. The

localization of the pancreatic masses was : mediastinal (6 cases), celiac (6 cases), intra-abdominal (3 cases), hepatic hile (1 case) and hepatic pedicule (n = 1). There were 14 men, and 3 women, mean age click here 59 years old, (extreme : 35–69 years old). The puncture of the lymph node was done in all cases

with a 19G puncture needle. All had a size superior to 10 mm. Results: No complication occured during the nCLE procedure or the puncture. A definitive histological diagnosis was obtained in 14/17 patients. It was the following : 7 malignant (metastasis of primary cancer : pancreas, stomach, lung, kidney, prostate and lymphoma), 7 benign. During this review, all normal lymph nodes showed one sign : Enzalutamide chemical structure a reticular background, consisting in lymphocytes. On the other hand, tumoral lymph nodes presented dark clumps or aggregates of dark cells, and tumoral glands. Finally, all a few criteria could be observed in all cases : white bands (blood vessels), macrophages, fat cells (bubbles), and thin straight bands over a regular dark aggregate which corresponds to fibrosis in the capsula of the lymph node. Conclusion: This preliminary classification of nCLE images obtained in lymph nodes could help in the differentiation of malignant and benign lymph nodes. nCLE could therefore facilitate the diagnosis of these lesions, by bringing in vivo microscopic information, in real-time. Key Word(s): 1. endomicroscopy; 2. lymph node; 3. staging; 4.