Volume 3 Issue 5, May 2006

Pancreatic cancer has an extremely poor natural course, and early diagnosis is difficult owing to its location and the lack of early markers for the disease. This Viewpoint discusses whether it is possible to survive pancreatic carcinoma in light of these features, in addition to examining current and potential future therapies.

This Viewpoint looks at the possible reasons why the publication of medical errors in the scientific literature is so infrequent, not only when compared with the number and variety of medical errors that occur, but also in view of the didactic importance of debating mistakes and possible ways to avoid them.

The management and treatment of gastrointestinal ailments in pregnant women require special attention and expertise because of the safety of the mother, fetus and neonate remains the primary focus. The authors of this Review discuss pharmacologic therapies for gastrointestinal conditions encountered during pregnancy, including nausea and vomiting in pregnancy, hyperemesis gravidarum, gastroesophageal reflux disease, peptic ulcer disease, irritable bowel syndrome and inflammatory bowel disease.

Over the past decade, there have been remarkable advances in our understanding of stem cell biology. Although the intestinal stem cell remains difficult to isolate, it is known to be important for the development of intestinal neoplasms. In this Review, the authors discuss the basic mechanisms behind stem cell regulation in the gut and their role in the natural history of tumor progression in the setting of colorectal cancer.

The authors of this Review consider how a reduced prevalence of organisms that have been part of human microecology for millennia (including saprophytic mycobacteria, bifidobacteria, lactobacilli, and helminths) and cause little, if any, harm to the host, might explain the increased prevalence of immune-mediated disorders in westernized countries.