[Curative surgery treatment of cancer of the biliary tract and exocrine pancreas].

Curative surgery for cancers of the biliary tract and pancreas varies according to their location. Cancer of the upper third of the extrahepatic bile duct is remarkable for the technical problems it raises, with the possible combination of partial or total liver resection followed by transplantation. Cancer of the lower third of this duct is similar to cancer of the pancreas as regards both diagnosis and treatment which consists of cephalic duodeno-pancreatic cancers. Cancer of the middle third should be treated, depending on its extension, as upper third or lower third cancer. The survival obtained by curative surgery is longer than that obtained by surgical or non-surgical palliative treatment, with an equal or higher operative risk, frequent cholangitis and an often mediocre quality of life.