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In 2015, an estimated 367,000 new cases of pancreatic cancer were diagnosed worldwide; this disease is aggressive and patients face a dismal overall prognosis. In this Primer, the current understanding of pathophysiological, molecular, translational and clinical aspects of pancreatic cancer are described.

Common risk factors for developing hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) include cirrhosis, excessive alcohol consumption and viral hepatitis. This PrimeView highlights the management of HCC, for which there is only one systemic therapy and front-line treatment remains liver transplantation.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common form of primary liver cancer and has well-known risk factors, including cirrhosis and viral hepatitis. Here, Llovet and colleagues discuss the challenges and recent advances in HCC molecular characterization, diagnosis and management.

Clostridium difficile infection is an increasingly common infective healthcare-associated diarrhoea. This PrimeView highlights how the bacterium causes disease, which typically emerges after antibiotic-mediated dysbiosis of the gut.

This Primer describes the mechanisms underlying the serious effects of Clostridium difficile infection, which is the leading cause of health-care-associated infective diarrhoea. Strategies for diagnosis, prevention and management are also described, illustrating the burden that C. difficile infection places on patients and society.

Atrial fibrillation results from the disorganized propagation of electrical impulses in the heart. The subsequent ineffective pumping of blood increases the risk of coagulation and thrombosis, and stroke prevention is therefore the most important management priority for these patients.

Atrial fibrillation occurs when cardiac electrical impulses become disordered, leading to a rapid and irregular heartbeat. Lip and colleagues discuss the mechanisms that underlie this common arrhythmia and outline current strategies and potential future developments for its diagnosis and management.

Irritable bowel syndrome is a gastrointestinal disorder that can be mild in some patients, but debilitating in others. This PrimeView focuses on the complex aetiology and current understanding of the molecular pathophysiology, involving intestinal permeability, microbiota, inflammation and visceral sensitivity, among other factors.

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a functional gastrointestinal disease with a high prevalence. Enck et al. describe the association between IBS and other gastrointestinal, somatic and psychiatric conditions, as well as the current view on the pathophysiology, and diagnostic and management options.

One-third of people with diabetes develop diabetic retinopathy (DR). This PrimeView focuses on the pathophysiology of the different stages of DR, ranging from mild to severe non-proliferative DR and proliferative DR, with or without diabetic macular oedema.

Diabetic retinopathy is a common microvascular complication of diabetes and is a major cause of vision loss in middle-aged and elderly people. In this Primer, Wong et al. discuss the epidemiology, underlying pathophysiological mechanisms, classification and diagnosis and treatment options of this condition.

Acute myeloid leukaemia is a malignant disorder that leads to an expansion of immature myeloid precursors at the expense of their differentiated counterparts. This PrimeView highlights how the disease can occur at all ages, but predominantly affects the elderly (>60 years of age).

Acute myeloid leukaemia is characterized by clonal proliferation of haematopoietic stem cells or progenitor cells, leading to fewer differentiated red blood cells, platelets and white blood cells. The disease presents with a rapid onset and may be fatal in weeks or months if left untreated.

Calcific aortic stenosis (AS) results from the thickening and calcification of valve leaflets and subsequent obstruction of blood-flow across the aortic valve This PrimeView highlights the management of AS, for which the only treatment is aortic valve replacement.

Calcific aortic stenosis (AS) involves fibro-calcific remodelling of the aortic valve that causes restriction of blood flow. Pibarot and colleagues discuss the mechanisms, diagnosis and management of AS and highlight how the introduction of transcatheter-based valve replacement has transformed patient outcomes.

This PrimeView highlights the surgical interventions to treat kidney stones, which can develop when the urine becomes supersaturated with respect to a given mineral.

Kidney stones form when the urine becomes supersaturated with respect to a mineral, leading to crystal formation, growth, aggregation and retention within the kidneys. In this Primer, Khan et al. describe the contributing pathways to stone formation and the available treatments, as well as highlight the emerging management strategies.

IgA nephropathy is a common glomerulonephritis that is probably triggered by the aberrant glycosylation of IgA1, which is recognized as an autoantigen. This PrimeView highlights the plausible mechanisms underlying the disease, as well as how patients are managed.