title: Endoscopic palliation of pancreatic cancer.
abstract: Endoscopic approaches have revolutionized the palliation of advanced pancreatic cancer. The ideal management consists of a multidisciplinary approach involving surgeons, endoscopists, radiologists, and oncologists. Concurrent advances in the fields of interventional radiology and laparoscopic surgical oncology should be readdressed and directly compared with endoscopic approaches in randomized controlled trials. Exciting novel endoscopic techniques are being developed and evaluated; however, these approaches require further validation with randomized clinical trials to determine the safety and efficacy when compared with more traditional approaches.
authors.affiliation: Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Mezzanine Level, C-Wing, UPMC Presbyterian, 200 Lothrop Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA. sandersm@dom.pitt.edu
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sanders
authors.forename: Georgios I
authors.initials: GI
authors.lastname: Papachristou
authors.forename: Kevin M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: McGrath
authors.forename: Adam
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Slivka
mesh_terms: D015746:Abdominal Pain / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery; D016145:Endoscopy, Digestive System / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D010166:Palliative Care / Q000379:methods*; D010190:Pancreatic Neoplasms / Q000150:complications / Q000601:surgery*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D016896:Treatment Outcome