Advances in the diagnosis and treatment of pancreatic carcinoma

Pancreatic carcinoma has a dismal prognosis. In the last years, great effor ts have been made to improve diagnosis and preoperative staging of potentia lly curable carcinomas. Actually, the diagnosis of fairly small tumours is possible. Chemoradiation therapy protocols prior to pancreatectomy, aiming to improve survival, are currently being held. This therapy allows radiatio n to be distributed into well oxygenated cells before surgical devasculariz ation. This procedure can be done with acceptable morbidity and mortality r ates. In selected cases of irresectable carcinoma, surgical palliation allo ws a better quality of life. Pancreatoduodenal resection, along with other traditional oncological therapies, will continue to be the therapy of choic e for patients with carcinoma of the head of the pancreas, without local or regional metastases. However, an intensive search for new therapeutic stra tegies, specially in the field of molecular biology, is being carried out.