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The origin of Barrett oesophagus has been debated for many years, but no consensus has been reached. In this Perspectives article, Stuart McDonald and colleagues look at the Barrett lesion itself: at its phenotype, its complexity, its clonal architecture and its stem cell organization. They conclude that current evidence most strongly supports an origin from stem cells in the cardia.
Clinical research in gastroenterology has largely been based on clinical trials or case series. Now, with the accumulation of vast amounts of health-care data in electronic medical records and repositories, research is progressing towards analysis of large databases (so-called big data). In this opinion piece, the authors describe how database analysis might be applied in gastroenterology.
Advancing the field of therapeutics for hepatocellular carcinoma has been far more challenging than initially anticipated; sorafenib is the only approved systemic therapy in more than 5 years. Marcus-Alexander Wörns and Peter Galle elucidate the current landscape of phase III trials in advanced HCC, with a special focus on future challenges.
