Surgery is the standard of care for T1bN0M0 esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), whereas chemoradiotherapy (CRT) is a treatment option. This trial aimed to investigate the noninferiority of CRT relative to surgery for T1bN0M0 ESCC.

Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) have a major impact on gut microbiome and immune function, which in turn, may increase the risk of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Our aim in this study was to evaluate PPI use and subsequent risk of IBD and subtypes (ie, Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis).

Studies have shown that hyperglycemia in cirrhotic patients increases mortality. However, no population-based study has evaluated the influence of hypoglycemia upon hospital admission on death in these patients. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of hypoglycemia at admission on the mortality of patients with liver cirrhosis.

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a major global health problem. Although sub-Saharan Africa has a high proportion of the global burden of HBV, the epidemiology and clinical features of HBV in this region are poorly characterized, and access to diagnostic and treatment services remain limited.

Hepatic steatosis has a pivotal role in the development of chronic liver diseases, even in alcohol-related liver disease. Alcoholic fatty liver disease is an important phenotype among alcohol-related liver diseases. While metabolic syndrome is a dominant risk factor of incident nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, the role of metabolic syndrome in alcoholic fatty liver disease has not been clarified yet.

Enterotoxigenic Bacteroides fragilis (ETBF) is strongly associated with the occurrence of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), colitis-associated colorectal cancer, and colorectal cancer (CRC). However, the mechanism of ETBF-induced intestinal inflammation and tumorigenesis remains unclear.

Conventional endoscopic mucosal resection (CEMR) with submucosal injection is the current standard for the resection of large, nonmalignant colorectal polyps. We investigated whether underwater endoscopic mucosal resection (UEMR) is superior to CEMR for large (20-40mm) sessile or flat colorectal polyps.

In 2018, our team initiated a prospective pilot program to challenge the paradigm of the "6-month rule" of abstinence for patients with alcohol-related liver disease (ALD) requiring transplant. Our pilot involved an in-depth examination of patients' alcohol use, social support, and psychiatric comorbidity, as well as the provision of pre- and post-transplantation addiction treatment.

The symptoms and complications related to chronic liver disease (CLD) have been shown to affect patient well-being. Currently there is limited research data on how CLD severity may affect both health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and the development of depressive symptoms in CLD patients. Moreover, the ongoing advances in CLD treatment, and its effect on HRQOL, highlight the need for further studies. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to evaluate if the CLD severity may affect the HRQOL and the development of depressive symptoms.

Still's disease is a rare systemic inflammatory disease with frequent but generally mild liver involvement. The most common cause of acute liver failure in western countries is drug-induced liver injury, while it has rarely been reported in subjects suffering from Still's disease.

Granulocyte and monocyte adsorptive apheresis (GMA) is widely used as a remission induction therapy for active ulcerative colitis (UC) patients. However, there are no available biomarkers for predicting the clinical outcome of GMA. We investigated the utility of Fecal calprotectin (FC) as a biomarker for predicting the clinical outcome during GMA therapy in active UC patients.

Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs) are systemic diseases that manifest not only in the gut and gastrointestinal tract, but also in the extraintestinal organs in many patients. The quality of life for patients with IBD can be substantially affected by these extraintestinal manifestations (EIMs). It is important to have knowledge of the prevalence, pathophysiology, and clinical presentation of EIMs in order to adapt therapeutic options to cover all aspects of IBD. EIMs can occur in up to 24% of patients with IBD before the onset of intestinal symptoms, and need to be recognized to initiate appropriate diagnostic procedures. EIMs most frequently affect joints, skin, or eyes, but can also affect other organs, such as the liver, lung, and pancreas. It is a frequent misconception that a successful therapy of the intestinal inflammation will be sufficient to treat EIMs satisfactorily in most patients with IBD. In general, peripheral arthritis, oral aphthous ulcers, episcleritis, or erythema nodosum can be associated with active intestinal inflammation and can improve on standard treatment of the intestinal inflammation. However, anterior uveitis, ankylosing spondylitis, and primary sclerosing cholangitis usually occur independent of disease flares. This review provides a comprehensive overview of epidemiology, pathophysiology, clinical presentation, and treatment of EIMs in IBD.

Helicobacter pylori infects approximately 50% of individuals worldwide. Successful H pylori eradication is associated with reduced risk of gastric cancer and peptic ulcer disease, among other conditions. We hypothesized that host genetic determinants, especially those affecting gastric pH, might contribute to eradication therapy failure, particularly when treatment adherence and antibiotic susceptibility are confirmed. We aimed to conduct a meta-analysis of host genetic variants associated with H pylori eradication failure.