Prof Dirk Gouma speaks about his research comparing the use of endoscopic stents with bypass surgery for patients with pancreatic cancer. This study found that patients with a short life expectancy benefited from the short hospital stay and rapid recovery associated with an endoscopic stent whereas patients with a longer life expectancy benefited more from the bypass surgery. Prof Gouma describes how patients are assessed in order to decide on the most appropriate treatment, emphasised the importance of a multi-discipline approach to treatment and talks about the need for improvements in chemotherapy to further increase the outlook for pancreatic cancer patients.