New Gastroenterology special issue: Reviews in pancreatic diseases

The editors of a special issue of Gastroenterology, Ashok Saluja, PhD, AGAF, and Anirban Maitra, MBBS, have collated a compendium of reviews in pancreatic diseases to highlight the current state of knowledge on two major diseases affecting the pancreas — pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer.

Pancreatitis

Pancreatitis continues to be one of the most common causes of hospitalization among all gastrointestinal diseases, with a significant morbidity, mortality and economic burden. The incidence of pancreatitis is increasing but mortality associated with the disease has declined over the last several years due to improved management of the disease. Targeted therapy for the disease, either to “cure” or to “subdue” it, and to make it more manageable still remains a holy grail for the investigators and clinicians studying the disorder.

• • Acute pancreatitis: A multifaceted set of organelle and cellular interactions

• • By Aida Habtezion, Anna S. Gukovskaya, Stephen J. Pandol

• • Genetics, cell biology and pathophysiology of pancreatitis

• • By Julia Mayerle, Matthias Sendler, Eszter Hegyi, Georg Beyer, Markus M. Lerch, Miklós Sahin-Tóth

• • Pancreatitis in children

• • By Aliye Uc, Sohail Z. Husain

• • Early intra-acinar events in pathogenesis of pancreatitis

• • By Ashok Saluja, Vikas Dudeja, Rajinder Dawra, Raghuwansh P. Sah

• • Current concepts in severe acute and necrotizing pancreatitis: An evidence-based approach

• • By Guru Trikudanathan, Daniel R.J. Wolbrink, Hjalmar C. van Santvoort, Shawn Mallery, Martin Freeman, Marc G. Besselink

• • Organ failure due to systemic injury in acute pancreatitis

• • By Parmod K. Garg, Vijay P. Singh

Pancreatic cancer

Pancreatic cancer, specifically pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, has emerged as the third most common cause of cancer-related death in the U.S. Most patients present at an advanced, surgically inoperable stage of the disease, and current chemotherapeutic options enhance survival by no more than a few months. The reviews in this issue encompass key topics for progress and research opportunities in pancreatic cancer.

• • Early detection of pancreatic cancer: Opportunities and challenges

• • By Aatur D. Singhi, Eugene J. Koay, Suresh T. Chari, Anirban Maitra

• • Genetics of familial and sporadic pancreatic cancer

• • By Laura D. Wood, Matthew B. Yurgelun, Michael G. Goggins

• • Broadening the impact of immunotherapy to pancreatic cancer: Challenges and opportunities

• • By Vinod P. Balachandran, Gregory L. Beatty, Stephanie K. Dougan

• • Signaling networks that control cellular plasticity in pancreatic tumorigenesis, progression and metastasis

• • By Howard C. Crawford, Marina Pasca di Magliano, Sulagna Banerjee

• • Fibroblasts in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma: Biological mechanisms and therapeutic targets

• • By Martin C. Whittle, Sunil R. Hingorani

• • The role of the microbiome in immunologic development and its implication for pancreatic cancer immunotherapy

• • By Vrishketan Sethi, Gerardo A. Vitiello, Deepak Saxena, George Miller, Vikas Dudeja