Ľudovít Jančula
Approximately 30 000 new cases of pancreatic cancer and 7 000 biliary tract cancers are diagnosed annualy in the United States. In Slovakia become ill from pancreatic cancer about 500-600 people and from the gallbladder cancer cca 400 persons per year. The most common cause of malignant biliary obstruction is pancreatic adenocarcinoma, folowed by cholangiocarcinoma, ampullary neoplasms, and extrinsic compresion by metastatic lymphadenopathy in the liver hilum. The role of ERCP in pancreatico-billiary malignancies is to confirm diagnosis of obstructive jaundice in patients with suspected pancreatic carcinoma or billiary tumors, obtian tissue for histopathologic diagnosis, establish the exact site of obstruction, i. e. ampullary, pancreatic, or bile duct, decompress the biliary tract, and facilitate palliative therapy such as intraluminal brachytherapy or intraductal photodyamic therapy.