Endoscopic ductal decompression therapy offers relief of pain in two-thirds of the patients when it is used as the only form of treatment. One-quarter of the patients have to undergo surgery.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second most frequent malignant disease in Europe. Every year, 412 000 people are diagnosed with this condition, and 207 000 patients die of it. In 2003, recommendations for screening programs were issued by the Council of the European Union (EU), and these currently serve as the basis for the preparation of European guidelines for CRC screening. The manner in which CRC screening is carried out varies significantly from country to country within the EU, both in terms of organization and the screening test chosen. A screening program of one sort or another has been implemented in 19 of 27 EU countries. The most frequently applied method is testing stool for occult bleeding (fecal occult blood test, FOBT). In recent years, a screening colonoscopy has been introduced, either as the only method (Poland) or the method of choice (Germany, Czech Republic).

In spite of continuous research efforts directed at early detection and treatment of pancreatic cancer, the outlook for patients affected by the disease remains dismal. With most cases still being diagnosed at advanced stages, no improvement in survival prognosis is achieved with current diagnostic imaging approaches. In the absence of a dominant precancerous condition, several risk factors have been identified including family history, chronic pancreatitis, smoking, diabetes mellitus, as well as certain genetic disorders such as hereditary pancreatitis, cystic fibrosis, familial atypical multiple mole melanoma, and Peutz-Jeghers and Lynch syndromes. Most pancreatic carcinomas, however, remain sporadic. Current progress in experimental molecular techniques has enabled detailed understanding of the molecular processes of pancreatic cancer development. According to the latest information, malignant pancreatic transformation involves multiple oncogenes and tumor-suppressor genes that are involved in a variety of signaling pathways. The most characteristic aberrations (somatic point mutations and allelic losses) affect oncogenes and tumor-suppressor genes within RAS, AKT and Wnt signaling, and have a key role in transcription and proliferation, as well as systems that regulate the cell cycle (SMAD/DPC, CDKN2A/p16) and apoptosis (TP53). Understanding of the underlying molecular mechanisms should promote development of new methodology for early diagnosis and facilitate improvement in current approaches for pancreatic cancer treatment.

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Although there is no evidence showing an association between PUD and the use of corticosteroids, a majority of physicians consider corticosteroids gastrotoxic. This applies, to a lesser extent, to gastroenterologists. Action should be taken to explode the myth about the gastrotoxicity of corticosteroids and to minimize useless expenses on concomitant prophylaxis.