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Endoscopic palliation of pancreaticobiliary malignancies.

Shah JN, Muthusamy VR

Department of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology, University of California, San Francisco, 94115, USA. janak.shah@med.va.gov

The palliation of pancreaticobiliary malignancies has changed over the last two decades. With the development of biliary stents, minimally invasive procedures have replaced surgical techniques. Endoscopically placed stents remain the mainstay for the palliative treatment of malignant biliary obstruction from unresectable pancreaticobiliary tumors. Further improvements in stent designs and advances in other endoscopic technologies are expected, and these should expand the role of minimally invasive palliation. This article reviews the current and anticipated roles of endoscopic techniques in the palliation of pancreaticobiliary malignancies.

Published 1 July 2005 in Gastrointest Endosc Clin N Am, 15(3): 513-31, ix.
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