[Biliary tract carcinomas. III. Cancer of Vater's papilla]

In the third successive paper on biliary tract carcinomas, the authors discuss the carcinoma of the terminal segment of biliary ducts - duodenal papilla. Nineteen patients are discussed, operated at the Chair of Abdominal Surgery for the period 1952-1979, representing I per cent of all biliary operations and 5.7 per cent of the operations for biliopancreatic tumours. Those were 12 males and 7 females (1.7:1) - two up to the age of 40, 9 between the age of 40 and 60 and 8 - over 60. The disease is more frequent during the last decade. Regardless of the higher accessibility via the instrumental investigations and the more characteristic clinical picture the admittance for operation is delayed with an average of 1-3 months. Vater's papilla carcinoma is more perspective for a surgical treatment, 42 per cent of the cases being resectable, but mortality rate remains high -36 per cent. Survival could be improved with an earlier diagnosis and improvement of operation technique with radical interventions.