Pancreatic disorders, such as acute and chronic pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer, are until now challenging diseases to manage, with significant burdens of morbidity, mortality rate, and high financial costs. Acute pancreatitis is still a common and potentially fatal disease with nonspecific treatment and unpredictable prognosis. Chronic pancreatitis, resulting in a slow irreversible damage of the organ with gradual decline in digestive enzyme production, is a major cause of pancreatic exocrine insufficiency in adults. Finally, pancreatic cancer is known as a devastating process with only 6-month median survival after diagnosis.

In spite of significant improvements in understanding the pathophysiology of the different pancreatic diseases and advances in the diagnosis and management of pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer, the mortality rate has remained stable since the 1970s.

We take a particular interest in future manuscripts that are dedicated to pathogenesis of pancreatic diseases as well as molecular and cellular basis of pancreatitis and pancreatic malignancy. Moreover, articles that report prognostic factors and clinical criteria of pancreatic diseases and progress in prognosis of acute pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer as well as new aspects of treatment of pancreatic diseases would be of great interest.

We invite investigators to contribute their original data and review articles that will be in line with new insights into pathogenesis, diagnosis, and treatment of pancreatic disorders. Potential topics include, but are not limited to:

• Basic research and epidemiological data on etiologic factors in pancreatic diseases
• Basic research on pathogenetic aspects of pancreatic diseases
• Inflammatory cytokine polymorphisms: important aspects in pancreatic disease?
• Early prognosis in acute pancreatitis
• Diagnostic value of endosonography and radiologic methods in chronic pancreatitis
• Cystic lesion in pancreas: diagnosis and treatment
• Autoimmune pancreatitis, pathogenesis, diagnosis, and treatment
• Genetic basis of pancreatic malignancy
• Early detection of pancreatic cancer
• New aspects of treatment of pancreatic disorders