Analysis of microrna expression in brush cytology specimens as a new diagnostic tool in pancreatobiliary strictures

Background & Aim: Benign and malignant pancreatobiliary strictures are in many cases clinically indistinguishable and present a major problem to gastroenterology specialists. Intraductal sampling procedures such as brush cytology are commonly used for diagnosis with a sensitivity that is unacceptably low for a diagnostic test used in daily clinical practice. MicroRNA (miR) alterations detected in many cancers are disease-specific, which can be utilized in clinical applications based on the stability of these small RNA molecules. The aim of the present study was to analyze whether determination of miR expression…