In this population-based study, CD and UC incidences increased dramatically in adolescents across a 24-year span, suggesting that one or more strong environmental factors may predispose this population to IBD.

SUMMARY The endoscopic features of the gastric mucosa in patients with cirrhosis have not been systematically investigated. In these patients, we observed an endoscopic aspect, consisting of multiple small erythematous areas, outlined by a subtle yellowish network (resembling a mosaic), mainly located in the proximal part of the stomach. We tested the value of this sign by comparing two groups: 100 patients with portal hypertension due to cirrhosis, and 300 control patients without signs of liver disease or portal hypertension. This endoscopic pattern was observed in 94 of the patients with cirrhosis, whereas oesophageal varices were seen in 78 only. In contrast, only one patient of the control group had this aspect. Moreover, this sign was also found in seven of eight patients with non cirrhotic portal hypertension, but was seen neither in 100 patients with chronic alcoholism but without liver disease, nor in 10 cirrhotic patients with end-to-side portacaval shunts. These endoscopic changes might be because of mucosal and/or submucosal oedema and congestion highlighting the normal areae gastricae pattern and related to raised portal pressure. We conclude that the mosaic pattern of the gastric mucosa is a sensible and specific sign for diagnosis of portal hypertension, whatever the cause.In patients with cirrhosis, gastrointestinal bleeding related to portal hypertension may be caused by either ruptured oesophageal varices or acute gastric lesions.2 4 Oesophageal varices mucosal changes in these patients are well documented and might have pronostic value.5 In contrast, very little information is available on the gastric mucosa. We observed during upper endoscopic examination, of patients with cirrhosis, multiple erythematous areas, mainly in the fundus, rectangular or diamond-shaped (2-6 mm in diameter), outlined by a delicate white or yellowish network, resembling a mosaic (Figure). Moreover, during emergency endoscopy for upper gastrointestinal bleeding in patients with cirrhosis, we noticed multiple red spots located in the centre of these areas (Figure). The aim of the prospective study described is to determine if this sign has a true significance for the diagnosis of cirrhosis and/or portal hypertension and to test its sensitivity and specificity.

Extraintestinal manifestations occurred at lower frequency in elderly-onset compared with pediatric-onset patients. In both age populations, presence of EIM at diagnosis independently increased the need for corticosteroid and immunosuppressive treatment.

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Inflammatory myofibroblastic tumors (IMTs) are intermediate-grade mesenchymal neoplasms commonly characterized by chromosomal rearrangements causing constitutive activation of anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) and/or ALK mutations causing reduced sensitivity to ALK tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI). We present a patient with an IMT who initially responded to first-line alectinib, but who later suffered disease relapse and presently survives with moderate residual disease after receiving second-line lorlatinib. Biopsy specimens were analyzed using next generation sequencing (DNA-seq and RNA-seq) and reverse phase protein microarray (RPPA) as part of an institutional Molecular Tumor Board (MTB) study. An EML4-ALK rearrangement and EGFR activation (pEGFRY1068) were present in both the primary and recurrent tumors, while a secondary ALK I1171N mutation was exclusive to the latter. EGFR signaling in the background of a secondary ALK mutation is correlated with reduced ALK TKI sensitivity in vitro, implicating an important mechanism of drug resistance development in this patient. The RPPA results also critically demonstrate that ALK signaling (ALKY1604) was not activated in the recurrent tumor, thereby indicating that standard-of-care use of third- or fourth-line ALK TKI would not likely be efficacious or durable. These results underscore the importance of real-time clinical integration of functional protein drug target activation data with NGS in the MTB setting for improving selection of patient-tailored therapy.