Pancreatic stenting for malignant ductal obstruction.

Pain is a major issue of palliative treatment in many patients with advanced pancreatic cancer. 'Obstructive'-type pain identified by correlation with meals, back radiation and dilation of main pancreatic duct upstream the stricture may be treated by endoscopic stent placement into the pancreatic duct in order to by-pass the stricture. The clinical experience reported in the literature shows that pancreatic plastic stenting for 'obstructive' pain may provide complete relief of pain in about 60% of patients and partial relief in 25%.