title: [Role of endoscopy in the palliative therapy of pancreatic cancer].
abstract: The incidence of pancreatic cancer continues to increase and, although improving of diagnostic techniques, the prognosis is very poor with 5-year survival less than 5% and high mortality cancer rate. Neural and lymphatic micrometastases appear in early stages and curative resection is possible in few selected cases; in these patients there is a high local recurrence rate and a low median survival. Most patients with pancreatic cancer need palliative care of the obstructive jaundice (90%), duodenal stenosis and abdominal pain; endoscopic procedures have an important role in the treatment of these patients. Endoscopic placement of plastic biliary stents is a safe and efficient technique to perform a biliary drainage with a short hospital stay. The use of metal stent, instead of plastic prosthesis, improve median patency of the prosthesis with a low incidence of cholangitis, but they should be used only in patients with a life expectancy of more than six months, because of their high costs. Laparoscopic gastro-entero-anastomosis is a valid alternative to laparotomic procedure in the treatment of the duodenal stenosis, with a shorter hospital stay and a lower morbidity rate. The endoscopic treatment of abdominal pain with pancreatic endoprosthesis placement or with endosonography-guided celiac plexus neurolysis is an alternative approach to radiotherapy and analgesic drugs.
authors.affiliation: Divisione di Diagnostica e Chirurgia Endoscopica, Istituto Nazionale per lo Studio e la Cura dei Tumori, Milano, Italia. spinpas@tin.it
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Spinelli
authors.forename: A A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Schicchi
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Schiavo
mesh_terms: D015746:Abdominal Pain / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy; D002760:Cholangiopancreatography, Endoscopic Retrograde; D002779:Cholestasis / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy; D004724:Endoscopy; D006801:Humans; D010166:Palliative Care / Q000379:methods*; D010190:Pancreatic Neoplasms / Q000150:complications* / Q000601:surgery / Q000628:therapy*; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D015607:Stents