[Palliative or radical surgery for pancreatico-duodenal cancer?]

Reviewing the fate of 61 patients wih adenocarcinoma of the pancreatico-duodenal region in the context of a review of the literature leads to the following statements: 1. No radical surgery without histological confirmation. 2. Radical surgery for periampullary carcinoma, these tumors have the better prognosis than pancreatic carcinoma because of a different biological behaviour. 3. Radical surgery is the best palliation for pancreatic carcinoma, if pain is the leading symptom. 4. Palliative surgery is indicated for pancreatic carcinoma of the head with jaundice.