Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • News & Views
  • Published:

Surgical oncology

Is PBD suitable for resectable pancreatic cancer?

The role of preoperative biliary drainage (PBD) before surgery for tumors of the pancreatic head causing biliary obstruction has been controversial. A recent randomized trial revealed a higher complication rate with PBD in comparison to early surgery (within one week). Based on this trial, early surgery should be considered the preferred approach; however, the role of PBD when early surgery is not possible remains unclear.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

References

  1. van der Gaag, N. A. et al. Preoperative biliary drainage for cancer of the head of the pancreas. N. Engl. J. Med. 362, 129–137 (2010).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. van der Gaag, N. A. et al. Preoperative biliary drainage in patients with obstructive jaundice: History and current status. J. Gastrointest. Surg. 13, 814–820 (2009).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Kawarada, Y., Higashiguchi, T., Yokoi, H., Vaidya, P. & Mizumoto, R. Preoperative biliary drainage in obstructive jaundice. Hepatogastroenterology 42, 300–307 (1995).

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Wang, Q., Gurusamy, K. S., Lin, H., Xie, X. & Wang, C. Preoperative biliary drainage for obstructive jaundice. Cochrane Database Syst. Rev, Issue 3. Art. No.: CD005444. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD005444.pub2 (2008).

  5. Evans, D. B. et al. Preoperative gemcitabine-based chemoradiation for patients with resectable adenocarcinoma of the pancreatic head. J. Clin. Oncol. 26, 3496–3502 (2008).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Varadhachary, G. R. et al. Preoperative gemcitabine and cisplatin followed by gemcitabine-based chemoradiation for resectable adenocarcinoma of the pancreatic head. J. Clin. Oncol. 26, 3487–3495 (2008).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. US National Library of Medicine [online], (2009).

  8. US National Library of Medicine [online], (2008).

  9. US National Library of Medicine [online], (2010).

  10. US National Library of Medicine [online], (2010).

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Daniel J. Renouf.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing financial interests.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Renouf, D., Moore, M. Is PBD suitable for resectable pancreatic cancer?. Nat Rev Clin Oncol 7, 246–247 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrclinonc.2010.46

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrclinonc.2010.46

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing: Cancer

Sign up for the Nature Briefing: Cancer newsletter — what matters in cancer research, free to your inbox weekly.

Get what matters in cancer research, free to your inbox weekly. Sign up for Nature Briefing: Cancer