Surgical resection continues to be associated with the highest probability of long-term survival.
Therefore, accurate staging of disease is very important to select the appropriate patient group for surgical treatment while preventing the morbidity of unnecessary laparotomy. Although there has been considerable advances in radiographic and endoscopic imaging in recent years, there are still limitations in these technologies with regards to staging. Since the majority of patients are not candidates for surgical resection, a significant proportion of treatment strategy is aimed at palliation of complications from this disease. Three main symptoms are commonly associated with pancreatic cancer. These include biliary obstruction, duodenal obstruction, and pain.