Pancreatic cancer.

Despite the many advances reported during the past year, pancreatic cancer remains a profound therapeutic challenge. Helical CT has become the preferred staging study at many institutions. The role of chemoradiation therapy in a preoperative and postoperative setting is being defined. Gemcitabine has become first-line therapy for patients with advanced pancreatic adenocarcinoma. It is hoped that the increasing knowledge of the molecular biology of pancreatic carcinoma will lead to improvements in diagnosing, staging, and treating pancreatic adenocarcinoma.