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Phone:+49 0761 1514 440 Fax:+49 0761 1514 460 Email: info@falkfoundation.org

Edition
3/2026
Falk Gastro Review Journal

Editorial

Dear colleagues,

We are pleased to welcome you to this issue of FGR. As in previous issues, we have highlighted a number of important publications as “Editors’ Choice” selections or discussed them critically in the form of expert opinions. We hope you find this issue both engaging and useful for your clinical practice. […]

This issue features several noteworthy contributions on pancreatic cancer. Despite curative-intent surgery, pancreatic cancer continues to be diagnosed (too) late and five-year survival rates remain poor due to the limited efficacy of chemotherapy. Early detection therefore remains paramount. Newly diagnosed diabetes represents an important clinical warning sign. In a prospective cohort study, 0.6% of patients with new-onset diabetes subsequently developed pancreatic cancer, with a median latency of 8 months (Chari et al.). Conversely, sustained glycemic control in patients with longstanding diabetes was associated with a significant long-term reduction in pancreatic cancer risk (Tan et al.). In populations at risk, serum-based protein signatures may also facilitate detection of early-stage ductal pancreatic cancer (Lucas et al.). Improved radiologic imaging may further enhance early detection: In a comparative study, AI-based analysis of standard abdominal CT scans outperformed radiologists in identifying early-stage tumors (Alves et al.). We are also seeing advances in oncologic therapy. The Italian CASSANDRA trial demonstrated that neoadjuvant treatment with the PAXG protocol (capecitabine, cisplatin, nab-paclitaxel, and gemcitabine) extended median event-free survival from 10.2 to 16 months compared with mFOLFIRINOX (Reni et al.). Looking ahead, we hope that even more effective treatment options for pancreatic cancer will become available. Highly promising preclinical results in mouse models offer hope for new targeted and highly effective therapies, though the translational path from bench to bedside is expected to be lengthy (Liaki et al.). In any case, this remains an exciting and rapidly evolving field.

Yours sincerely,

Peter Hasselblatt and Tobias Böttler
Department of Internal Medicine II, University Medical Center Freiburg (Germany)

Current literature articles in this edition

Liver and Bile

Prognostic value of liver stiffness measurement vs. biochemical response in primary biliary cholangitis

J Hepatol 2026;84(2):275–283

Wong YJ, Lam L, Soret PA, Lemoinne S, Hansen B, Hirschfield G, Gulamhusein A, Lytvyak E, Pares A, Olivas I, Londono MC, Rogriguez-Tajes S, Eaton JE, Osman KT, Schramm C, Sebode M, Lohse AW, Dalekos G, Gatselis N, Nevens F, Cazzagon N, Zago A, Russo FP, Floreani A, Abbas N, Trivedi P, Thorburn D, Saffioti F, Barkai L, Roccarina D, Calvaruso V, Fichera A, Delamarre A, Sobenko N, Villamil AM, Medina-Morales E, Bonder A, Patwardhan V, Rigamonti C, Carbone M, Invernizzi P, Cristoferi L, van der Meer A, de Veer R, Zigmond E, Yehezkel E, Kremer AE, Deibel A, Bruns T, Große K, Wetten A, Dyson JK, Jones D, Levy C, Tanaka A, Dumortier J, Pageaux GP, de Lédinghen V, Carrat F, Chazouillères O, Corpechot C, Montano-Loza AJ; Global & ERN Rare-Liver PBC Study Groups

Liver and Bile

Proctocolectomy with permanent ileostomy is associated with improved transplant-free survival in patients with PSC

JHEP Rep. 2025;8(3):101700

Mol B, van Nieuwamerongen M, van Munster KN, Färkkilä M, Folseraas T, Tjønnfjord SKV, Hov JR, Boberg K, Vesterhus M, Jørgensen KK, Bergquist A, Goet JC, de Vries AC, van der Meer AJP, Weersma RK, Inderson A, Bogaards JA, Ponsioen CY; IPSCR study group

Liver and Bile

Safety and efficacy of elafibranor in primary sclerosing cholangitis: The ELMWOOD phase II randomized-controlled trial

J Hepatol. 2026;84(1):74–85

Levy C, Abouda GF, Bilir BM, Bonder A, Bowlus CL, Campos-Varela I, Cazzagon N, Chandok N, Cheent K, Cortez-Pinto H, Demir M, Dill MT, Eksteen B, Fenkel JM, Gilroy R, Ko HH, Jacobson IM, Kallis Y, Kugelmas M, Luketic V, Mangia A, Montano-Loza AJ, Mukhopadhya A, Olveira A, Patel BC, Pietrangelo A, Pradhan F, Salcedo M, Shiffman ML, Sprinzl K, Swann R, Thorburn D, Thuluvath PJ, Trivedi PJ, Turnes J, Zein CO, Gomes da Silva H, Jaitly S, Miller B, Milligan C, Tavenard A, Kowdley KV

Liver and Bile

Healthy eating and physical activity significantly lower sex-specific alcohol-attributable liver mortality in the United States

J Hepatol. 2026;84(1):18–34

Vilar-Gomez E, Nephew L, Gawrieh S, Vuppalanchi R, Kettler C, Pike F, Tu W, Samala N, Liangpunsakul S, Chalasani N

Liver and Bile

Survival with and without liver transplantation in critically ill patients with cirrhosis: A 20-year experience

Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2026;24(2):432-442.e8

Bernal W, Bittermann T, Sheth R, Trovato F, McPhail MJ, Khan P, Calvert S, Pirani T, Patel S, Loveridge R, Willars C, Auzinger G, Wendon JA

Liver and Bile

Utilization of liver grafts obtained from donation after medical assistance in dying: A Canadian multicenter experience

J Hepatol. 2026;84: 329-338

Parente A, Verhoeff K, Ray S, Selzner M, Reichman TW, Bleszynski MS, Segedi M, Glinka J, Tang E, Ganescu O, Solomon M, Barkun J, Chaudhury P, Paraskevas S, Zogopoulos G, Rubio S, Gala-Lopez BL, Dajani KZ, Shapiro AMJ; Canadian MAiD donation study group

Liver and Bile

Genetically engineered pig-to-human liver xenotransplantation

J Hepatol. 2026;84(3):587-598

Zhang W, Xu Q, Xu K, Jiang R, Wang S, Zheng M, Liu N, Jiao D, Wang Z, Ge J, Lu X, Li G, Huang F, Liu L, Yin Y, Liu Y, Guo J, Liu K, Wei HJ, Sun B

Liver and Bile

Reversal of ACLF and ALF using whole blood extracorporeal system combining HLA-depleted liver organoids with granulocyte-monocyte apheresis

J Hepatol. 2026;84(2):293–307

Yamaguchi H, Yoneyama Y, Ichimura K, Ohtsu K, Soen M, Moriya C, Kumagai M, Myers RP, Subramanian GM, Takebe T

Liver and Bile

Enhancement of inpatient mortality prognostication with machine learning in a prospective global cohort of patients with cirrhosis with external validation

Gastroenterology. 2026;170(1): 148–160

Silvey S, Kamath PS, George J, Choudhury A, Xie Q, Topazian M, Mekonnen HD, Cao Z, Nagral A, Reddy KR, Adebayo D, Asrani SK, Rajoriya N, Arrese M, Aghayeva S, Sharma M, Huezo SG, Gadano A, Yapici HB, Debzi N, Shaw J, Albhaisi S, Pérez Hernández JL, Wang Y, Peng F, Wei L, Eapen CE, Tan HK, Fung JY, Rajaram R, Thanapirom K, Adanır H, Doyle A, Shalimar, Su M, Jothimani D, Cai Y, Velazquez RM, Wang W, Gounder M, Gofton C, Barutcu S, Haktaniyan B, Farias AQ, Aravinthan AD, Bera C, Singh S, Hayes PC, Idilman R, Torre A, Alvares-da-Silva MR, Seto WK, Wong F, Bush BJ, Thacker LR, Patel N, Bajaj JS; CLEARED Investigators