Conference Report: Pittsburgh Pancreasfest 2005

rent acute and chronic pancreatitis led by David C. Whitcomb, MD, PhD, from the University of Pittsburgh. The NAPS2 meeting included an analysis of recruitment benchmarks and ascertainment challenges, safety monitoring and interim results. The study was felt to be on target to reach recruitment goals of 1,000 subjects plus controls by the completion of the study. Initial analysis of the data promises a number of major fi ndings that will help defi ne susceptibility and progression of chronic pancreatitis as well as factors that determine disease severity and quality of life. It was also stressed that these accomplishments required a large number of patients outside of a multicenter setting. The second investigators meeting was for PANDA, a molecular diagnosis study targeting malignant pancreatic cysts using EUS and led by Asif Khalid, MD, from the University of Pittsburgh. The study is in the initial stages but recruitment is running ahead of schedule at several major centers. Both of these studies served as an example to the Pancreasfest participants of successful models of multi-center studies. The fourth program was the Second Pancreas ThoughtLeaders Conference . The participants included the principal pancreas experts from major universities and clinical programs from across the United States, selected young investigators and members of the GI and Pancreatic Cancer SPORES. The session began with presentations from academic centers on the current problems faced while conducting clinical and translational investigations. The primary issues are cost of recruitment, including administrative overhead fees, time and expense in meeting institutional review board requirements, The city of Pittsburgh was the center of the pancreas world in July 2005 as national leaders from the United States gathered for 5 major programs collectively called Pancreasfest 2005 . The theme of Pancreasfest was ‘Enhancing multicenter clinical studies in pancreatic diseases’. Pancreasfest 2005 began with a continuing medical education (CME) program sponsored by the Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, University of Pittsburgh. The CME program focused on acute pancreatitis, pancreatic cancer and use of endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) in diagnosing pancreatic diseases with sessions on Detection and Treatment of Acute Pancreatitis , Patients at Risk of Pancreatic Cancer and Pancreatic Diseases and EUS . The CME program also included a general session featuring clinical Highlights from DDW . The pancreas sessions were moderated by Adam Slivka, MD, PhD and Kevin McGrath, MD. Nationally known speakers included John Baillie, MD, David C. Whitcomb, MD, PhD, Peter Banks, MD, Peter Cotton, MD, James DiSario, MD, Randall Brand, MD, Michelle Anderson, MD, Nuzhat Ahmad, MD, Julia LeBlanc, MD, Asif Khalid, MD and Steve Edmundowicz, MD. The program was attended by over 150 individuals and the reviews were almost universally ‘outstanding’. To set the tone for the remainder of the meeting and to demonstrate study strength and opportunities gained by pooling resources, two investigator meetings were held related to major, ongoing multicenter pancreatic studies. The North American Pancreatitis Study 2 (NAPS2) is a 5-year, 20-center molecular epidemiology study of recurPublished online: December 16, 2005