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		Commentary by Christoph W. Michalski, Jörg Kleeff and Helmut Friess, Department of Surgery, Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany on: Overexpression of Interleukin-1β in the Murine Pancreas Results in Chronic Pancreatitis Frederic Marrache et al. Gastroenterology 2008;135:1277-1287 PancreasWeb 08/11/08

News
		New zebrafish model for pancreatic neoplasia created PancreasWeb 22/08/08 Following up on the hypothesis that pancreatic neoplasia may be initiated in progenitor-like cells, researchers from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, Md., have created a zebrafish model of pancreatic cancer.
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		Novel Use of Gemcitabine Shows Benefits in Pancreatic Cancer Treatment PancreasWeb 18/06/08 Results of a new study suggest that patients suffering from pancreatic cancer may benefit from a new treatment strategy involving gemcitabine. Richard Schilsky, MD, from the University of Chicago recently presented the results of a trial on the effects of gemcitabine administered after pancreatic cancer surgery. The researchers found that treatment with gemcitabine, compared to placebo, resulted in improvements in both disease-free and overall survival: …
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		Resveratrol Shows Anti-Cancer Effects PancreasWeb 28/04/08 Resveratrol, a natural antioxidant found in grape skins and wine, is believed to have anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory and anti-atherogenic effects, and to modulate cell growth. Researchers from the University of Rochester Medical Center (New York) have now shown that this agent can also help destroy pancreatic cancer cells by impairing mitochondria function. …
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		Development of the Pancreas and Neonatal Diabetes PancreasWeb 24/04/08 This book, Vol. 12 of the series 'Endocrine Development', presents in vivo and in vitro techniques to investigate pancreas development and islet cell function, as well as some reviews dealing with genetics. Special emphasis is placed on the investigation, management and treatment of neonatal diabetes. For further information about this title, visit its homepage
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		Toad Venom – Possible Benefits in Cancer Treatment PancreasWeb 28/03/08 In an attempt to integrate traditional Chinese medicine in Western cancer treatment, American and Chinese researchers investigated the efficacy of toad venom extract in cancer patients. This study is part of a collaborative research project between the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Huston, TX, and the Cancer Hospital, Fudan University in Shanghai.
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		Pancreatic Cancer Research Fund 2008 Research Award PancreasWeb 05/02/08 The Pancreatic Cancer Research Fund, a registered UK charity, is offering a Project Grant of up to £150,000 for research into pancreatic cancer. Applications are invited for this award, which will be for 1-3 years and can cover salary or research costs, or a combination of the two (but no overheads). Basic and translational research is of particular interest and proposals will be judged on the basis of scientific excellence and innovation. The principal applicant should be based in a UK research group or institution, although proposals involving collaboration with a researcher or researchers outside the UK will be considered. Application form and further details are available from the charity. E-mail maggieblanks@pcrf.org.uk Closing date for applications is 30th May 2008. Further information about the charity can be found on the Pancreatic Cancer Research Fund website http://www.pcrf.org.uk or by phoning Maggie Blanks on +44 (0) 208 360 1119.
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		Pancreatic Stem Cells Discovered in Adult Mice PancreasWeb 03/03/08 Until now, the existence of pancreatic stem cells in adult organisms has been questioned due to the lack of evidence to support this hypothesis. Previous studies suggested that the replication of adult β cells may be responsible for new β cells, rather than stem cells. Harry Heimberg, MD, and his team from the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Center at Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium, have now succeeded in isolating pancreatic β cell progenitors in adult mice: …
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		Probiotics Seem to Have Adverse Effects in the Treatment of Severe Acute Pancreatitis PancreasWeb 01/02/08 Researchers at the University Medical Center Utrecht, The Netherlands, found that treating patients suffering from severe acute pancreatitis with probiotics resulted in increased mortality. This was completely unexpected as previous smaller studies, …
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		LAPSG Survey on Chronic Pancreatitis PancreasWeb 28/01/08 The Latin American Pancreatic Study Group (LAPSG) is currently gathering information about the different existing criteria of diagnosis and treatment of chronic Pancreatitis. For this purpose, the study group has designed a survey to help determine those aspects that are problematic and will eventually allow a record of patients suffering from the disease in Latin American countries.¨ The study group is also organizing a workshop on 'Chronic Pancreatitis in Latin America' during the Congress of Gastroenterology and Digestive Endoscopy, to be held in Buenos Aires in August 2008. Interested parties are kindly invited to take part in the survey: Go to survey Executive Comitee LAPSG: Eduardo Cunha, Guillermo Robles Díaz, Claudio Gonzalez, Lidia Fabiano and María Vaccaro Scientific Secretary of the Congress of Gastroenterology and Digestive Endoscopy 2008: Silvia C. Gutierrez Chairman of the Congress of Gastroenterology and Digestive Endoscopy 2008: Dr. Luis Soifer
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		Allergies may reduce pancreatic cancer risk PancreasWeb 10/01/08 According to a study conducted by Ayelet Eppel, MD, and his colleagues at the Mt. Sinai Hospital, Toronto, a history of allergies or hay fever may protect from pancreatic cancer. Previous epidemiological studies - although somewhat inconsistent - support this finding. The researchers conducted a population-based case-control study in Ontario, recruiting incident cases of pancreatic adenocarcinoma
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		Ukrainian Pancreatic Club Joins Triple Membership Scheme PancreasWeb 14/12/07 As of December 2007, the Ukrainian Pancreatic Club has joined the triple membership program initiated in 2003. This program allows pancreatologists to become a member of the respective National Society, the European Pancreatic Club (EPC) and the International Association …
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		Combining a platinum-based drug with gemcitabine may positively affect survival in pancreatic cancer patients PancreasWeb 10/12/07 According to a pooled analysis of data from previous clinical trials, Dr. Volker Heinemann (Klinikum Grosshadern, Munich, Germany) and his international team found that combining a platinum-based drug with gemcitabine may help extend the lives of some patients suffering from pancreatic cancer. Their rationale for exploring these combinations was the fact that preclinical studies indicate that gemcitabine …
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		Intravenous Antioxidant Therapy Found to Be Ineffective in Severe Acute Pancreatitis PancreasWeb 09/11/07 According to a trial conducted by researchers of the Manchester Royal Infirmary, intravenous antioxidant therapy is ineffective, and may even be harmful, in cases of severe acute pancreatitis. Dr. Ajith K. Siriwardena and his colleagues recruited 43 well-matched patients to this randomized, placebo-controlled trial; Inclusion criteria were enrolment within 72 hours of onset of predicted severe …
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		Mistletoe Shows Positive Effect in Supportive Care for Pancreatic Cancer PancreasWeb 18/10/69 Mistletoe extract has been used in Germany and Switzerland for a long time as supportive treatment in cancer patients, mainly to reduce adverse drug reactions and to improve quality of life. Dr. Harald Matthes (Berlin, Germany) and his coauthors have completed a study that evaluated the efficacy and safety of mistletoe extract in supportive care of surgically treated patients with pancreatic carcinoma (all stages), comparing them with a control group that did not receive the extract.
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		Specific Proteins May Help to Differentiate Chronic Pancreatitis from Pancreatic Cancer PancreasWeb 18/09/07 A major obstacle in the development of diagnostic biomarkers of early pancreatic cancer has been the dual expression of potential candidates in both chronic pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer. Ru Chen and her colleagues from the University of Washington, Seattle, systematically studied protein expression in chronic pancreatitis, using ICAT technology …
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		Novel Light-Scattering Technique Shows Promise in Early Detection of Pancreatic Cancer PancreasWeb 30/08/07 With the help of two novel complementary optical techniques, researchers from Northwestern University, Evanston, Ill., have been able to distinguish cancerous pancreatic tissue from normal tissue in a study published in the journal Clinical Cancer Research.
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		New Gene Therapy against Pancreatic Cancer Tested in Preclinical Trial PancreasWeb 15/08/07 A molecularly engineered therapy selectively embeds a gene in pancreatic cancer that shrinks or eradicates tumors, inhibits metastasis and prolongs survival with virtually no toxicity, researchers from the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center report in Cancer Cell.
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		Surgeons Perform World’s First Completely Incisionless Stapled Anastomosis PancreasWeb 30/07/07 The ground-breaking NOTES™ approach through the mouth provides a revolutionary and less invasive way to perform traditional surgical procedures A team of Baystate Medical Center physicians led by Dr. John Romanelli have performed the world’s first reported stapled NOTES™ cyst-gastrostomy on a chronically infected pancreatic pseudocyst. The surgeons decided on this procedure because prior endoscopic placement of stents had not yielded the desired results, …
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		The RON Cell Receptor May Be Involved in Pancreatic Carcinogenesis PancreasWeb 13/07/07 The RON receptor tyrosine kinase has been found to be overexpressed and/or active in several cancers, but its role in pancreatic cancer has hitherto been unknown. Andrew Lowy, MD, and Susan Waltz, PhD, from the University of Cincinnati, are now reporting a possible link between this receptor and pancreatic cancer.
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		CASE REPORTS IN GASTROENTEROLOGY - The first gastroenterology journal dedicated exclusively to case reports PancreasWeb 09/07/07 This new peer-reviewed online-only journal publishes original case reports covering the entire spectrum of gastroenterology. Clinicians and researchers are given a tool to disseminate their personal experience to a wider public as well as to review interesting cases encountered by colleagues all over the world. A search function across the entire growing collection of case reports facilitates the retrieval of specific information. Following the open access principle, the entire contents can be retrieved at no charge, guaranteeing easy access to this valuable source of anecdotal information at all times. Journal website
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		First Robotic Pancreatectomy a Success PancreasWeb 06/07/07 Surgeons at the University of Illinois Medical Center, Chicago, Ill., performed the first-ever robotic pancreatectomy in a 39-year-old male suffering from chronic familial pancreatitis. For this groundbreaking operation, the surgeons used the da Vinci surgical system, inserting the laparoscope and robotic arms …
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		Long-known anti-allergic drug may reduce pancreatic cancer growth PancreasWeb 25/04/07 Cromolyn, an anti-allergic drug that has been known for 40 years, has been found to significantly reduce tumor growth in animal models of human pancreatic cancer, also increasing the effectiveness of standard chemotherapy. Drawing on previous research, Craig Logsdon, PhD, and his team from the MD Anderson Cancer Center investigated the ability of cromolyn to block S100P function in a mouse model. …
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		Report of Latin American Pancreatic Study Group (LAPSG) Activities 2006 Maria I. Vaccaro, Buenos Aires, Argentina PancreasWeb 18/04/07 Read report
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		New Book Alert Pancreas - Pathological Practice and Research PancreasWeb 13/04/07 Edited by K. Suda, Tokyo, this publication describes in detail various pathological changes in the behavior of the pancreas. Pathologists, physicians and surgeons who are interested in the pancreas will find it a useful reference source both for their daily work as well as for future research. Further information is available on the publication's homepage
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		Pancreatic Cancer Stem Cells Found PancreasWeb 19/03/07 There has been increasing evidence that the capability of a tumor to grow and propagate is in fact dependent on a small subset of cells within a tumor. Researchers from the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center have now discovered what may very well be pancreatic cancer stem cells. Diane Simeone, MD, and her fellow researchers have used a xenograft model, …
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		Research on Non-Invasive Radiofrequency Destruction of Human Cancer Cells Is Advancing PancreasWeb 14/02/07 This novel method is based on an idea of John Kanzius, now retired former owner of Jet Broadcasting Co. When he was diagnosed with B-cell leukemia in 2002 and witnessed the impact of radiation and chemotherapy on fellow patients, Mr. Kanzius started to think about a new way to fight cancer, falling back on what he knows best – radio waves. His idea was to turn the cancer cells into …
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		Capsicain – a Future Cure for Pancreatic Cancer? PancreasWeb 01/02/07 Capsicain may play a major role in the development of the next generation of anti-cancer drugs, researchers from the Universities of Nottingham and Cardiff, UK, claim in a recently published study. Dr. Timothy Bates and his colleagues found that compounds belonging to the family of vanilloids, such as capsicain, can kill cancer cells …
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		New Method to Assess Cancer Therapy Effectiveness Found PancreasWeb 19/01/07 Researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (Dallas) have discovered a noninvasive method to monitor and quantify vascular effects of antitumor therapy, using microbubbles targeted to tumor endothelium, and contrast ultrasound. Rolf A. Brekken, MD, and his team searched for a way to assess …

Commentary
		Commentary by Christoph W. Michalski, Jörg Kleeff and Helmut Friess, Department of Surgery, Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany on: Overexpression of Interleukin-1β in the Murine Pancreas Results in Chronic Pancreatitis Frederic Marrache et al. Gastroenterology 2008;135:1277-1287 PancreasWeb 08/11/08
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		Commentary by Frédéric Triponez, MD, Geneva, Switzerland, on: Aggressive pancreatic resection for primary pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor: is it justifiable? Swee H. Teh, Clifford Deveney, Brett C. Sheppard Am J Surg 2007;193:610-613 PancreasWeb 14/05/07
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		Commentary by Arnaud Lemmers, MD, and Myriam Delhaye, MD, Brussels, Belgium, on: Potential of adipocytokines in predicting peripancreatic necrosis and severity in acute pancreatitis: Pilot study Andreas Schäffler, Karin Landfried, Markus Völk, Alois Fürst, Christa Büchler, Jürgen Schölmerich, Hans Herfath J Gastroenterol Hepatol 2007;22:326-334 PancreasWeb 26/04/07
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		Commentary by Gian Dorta, MD, and Christian Mottet, MD, PhD, Lausanne, Switzerland, on: Early Endoscopic Intervention Versus Early Conservative Management in Patients with Acute Gallstone Pancreatitis and Biliopancreatic Obstruction. A Randomized Clinical Trial Oria A., Cimmino D., Ocamp C., Silva W., Kohan G., Zandalazini H., Szelagowski C., Chiappetta L. Ann Surg 2007;245:10-17 PancreasWeb 29/03/07
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		Commentary by C. Matos, MD, Brussels, Belgium, on: Does secretin-stimulated MRCP predict exocrine pancreatic insufficiency ? A comparison with non-invasive exocrine pancreatic function tests Arne RJ Schneider et al. J Clin Gastroenterol 2006;40:851-855 PancreasWeb 12/12/06
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		Commentary by PD Dr. Jean-Louis Frossard, Geneva, Switzerland, on: A prospective, randomized, placebo-controlled trial of transdermal glyceryl trinitrate in ERCP: effects on technical success and post-ERCP pancreatitis A.J. Kaffes, M.J. Bourke, S. Ding, A. Alrubaie, V. Kwan, S.J. Williams Gastrointest Endosc 2006;64:351-357 PancreasWeb 14/11/06
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		Commentary by Thierry Berney, MD, MSc, Department of Visceral Surgery, Geneva University Hospitals, Switzerland, on: Implications and Cost of Pancreatic Leak Following Distal Pancreatic Resection J. Ruben Rodriguez, Santos Soto Germes, Pari V. Pandharipande, G. Scott Gazelle, Sarah P. Thayer, Andrew L. Warshaw, Carlos Fernandez-del Castillo Arch Surg 2006;141:361-366 PancreasWeb 28/06/06
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		Commentary by Dr. Myriam Delhaye, Brussels, Belgium on: Frozen sectioning of the pancreatic cut surface during resection of intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms of the pancreas is useful and reliable. A prospective evaluation Couvelard, A., et al. Ann Surg 2005;242:774-780 PancreasWeb 26/01/06
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		Commentary by Dr. F. Ulrich Weiss, Dr. Matthias Beier and Professor Markus M. Lerch, Department of Gastroenterology, Endocrinology and Nutrition, Ernst-Moritz-Arndt-Universität Greifswald, Germany. on: A Proinflammatory, Antiapoptotic Phenotype Underlies the Susceptibility to Acute Pancreatitis in Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Regulator (-/-) Mice M.J. DiMagno et al Gastroenterology 2005;129:665-681 PancreasWeb 03/10/05
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		Commentary by Professor Philippe Lévy, Hôpital Beaujon, Clichy, France, on: Treatment strategy of intraductal papillary-mucinous tumor of the pancreas Kenji Yamao J Gastroenterol 2005;40:773-774 PancreasWeb 20/09/05
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		Commentary by PD Dr. Jean-Louis Frossard, Geneva, Switzerland, on: Pathophysiology of Acute Experimental Pancreatitis: Lessons from Genetically Engineered Animal Models and New Molecular Approaches Schäfer, C., Tietz, A.B., Göke, B. Digestion 2005;71:162-172 PancreasWeb 12/07/05
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		Commentary by Prof. Tony Hollingsworth, Eppley Institute for Research in Cancer and Allied Disease, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebr., on MUC1 expression in primary and metastatic pancreatic cancer cells for in vitro treatment by 213Bi-C595 radioimmunoconjugate C.F. Qu et al. Br J Cancer 2004;91:2086-2093 PancreasWeb 02/06/05
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		Commentary by PD Dr. Jean-Louis Frossard, Geneva, Switzerland, on: Laboratory Markers of Severe Acute Pancreatitis B. Rau, M.K. Schilling, H.G. Beger Dig Dis 2004;22:247-257 PancreasWeb 14/03/05
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		Commentary by Daniel D. Billadeau, PhD, and Andrei V. Ougolkov, MD, PhD, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn., on: Metabolic sensitivity of pancreatic tumour cell apoptosis to glycogen phosphorylase inhibitor treatment W.-N.P. Lee, P. Guo, S. Lim, S. Bassilian, S.T. Lee, J. Boren, M. Cascante, V.L.W. Go, L.G. Boros Br J Cancer, 2004;91:2094-2100 PancreasWeb 25/02/05

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