The article examines whether surgical resection can be avoided in some patients after a malignant colorectal polyp has been removed endoscopically. Traditionally, surgery has been recommended because of concerns about residual cancer or lymph node involvement, but the article highlights growing discussion around selective non-surgical management. Key themes covered in the article:
Author: Abhay Panchal
While artificial intelligence has already proven its value in GI diagnostics—boosting polyp detection, improving histology scoring, and streamlining endoscopy—this review argues that its real transformative potential lies elsewhere: helping patients actually follow the diet and lifestyle changes that matter most. For conditions like IBS, IBD, GERD, celiac disease, and functional GI disorders, diet is often more effective than drugs. Yet adherence remains poor due to limited access to dietitians, lack of personalization, cultural mismatch, and zero real-time support. The result? Patients turn to trial-and-error or unreliable online advice. AI offers a way out of this gap. Using natural language processing,…
Connections between the digestive system and the brain have been postulated for over 2000 years. Despite this, only recently have specific mechanisms of gut-brain interaction been identified. Due in large part to increased interest in the microbiome, the wide use of incretin-based therapies (i.e., glucagon-like peptide 1 [GLP-1] receptor agonists), technological advancements, increased understanding of neuroimmunology, and the identification of a direct enteroendocrine cell–neural circuit, research in the past 10 years has made it abundantly clear that the gut-brain connection plays a role both in clinical disease as well as the actions of therapeutics. In this Review, we describe mechanisms…
Private equity’s relationship with physician groups is maturing. While deal volume has cooled since its 2021 peak—pressured by labor shortages, reimbursement cuts, and post-COVID realities—investor interest hasn’t disappeared. Instead, it has evolved. The old playbook of pure buy-and-build is giving way to a more sophisticated model: performance-driven, tech-enabled, clinician-aligned platforms built for long-term value and strategic exits. Today’s winning physician groups look less like loose networks of practices and more like integrated enterprises. Investors are prioritizing organic growth, repeatable ancillary strategies, and making physician groups “employers of choice”—not just acquisition vehicles. AI, analytics, and centralized infrastructure are now essential to…
Chronic constipation affects 8-12% of Americans, with 3 million patients per year seeking clinical evaluation. Although most patients with chronic constipation respond to medical therapy, a subset experiences refractory constipation, which poses unique diagnostic and therapeutic challenges. AGA’s new clinical practice update outlines 14 best-practice advice statements to support the diagnosis and management of refractory constipation. Watch as Drs. Kyle Staller and Leila Neshatian discuss key updates from the CPU.
GLP-1 receptor agonists may be superior to aspirin for primary prevention of colorectal cancer, according to study results presented at ASCO Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium. A retrospective analysis of more than 281,000 people showed those who used GLP-1s exhibited a 36% reduced risk for colorectal cancer compared with those who used aspirin. The benefit with GLP-1s appeared even greater among individuals at highest risk due to family history, genetic predisposition or other high-risk comorbidities, such as Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis.
Guardant Health, Inc. (Nasdaq: GH), a leading precision oncology company, today announced its Shield blood test for colorectal cancer screening (CRC) is now covered for active-duty service members and their families through TRICARE, the U.S. military’s health insurance coverage, with no copay for average-risk individuals ages 45 and older. Shield is the first and only blood test approved by the FDA as a primary screening option for CRC, offering U.S. military troops a more pleasant and convenient option for screening by overcoming barriers associated with other screening methods. According to the Department of Defense, there are approximately 1.3 million active-duty…
Gastroenterology in 2025 was not shaped by a single breakthrough or defining moment. It was shaped by pressure—rising demand, constrained capacity, shifting economics, and a growing gap between how the system was designed to work and how it actually functions in practice. Across screening, endoscopy, ownership models, site of care, innovation, and workforce sustainability, the specialty spent the year reassessing what still scales, what no longer does, and which assumptions quietly broke along the way. The clearest signal of that reassessment comes from the articles GI leaders returned to most often. The screening model began to fracture under its own…
From seismic policy shifts to blockbuster deals and the accelerating migration of higher-acuity care into the outpatient setting, 2025 was a defining year for the ambulatory surgery center (ASC) industry. ASC News readers gravitated toward stories that captured an industry in transition – one balancing rapid growth and innovation with mounting regulatory action, reimbursement pressures, and questions about scale, ownership and independence. Clinical evolution was another important theme. Readers showed strong interest in how emerging technologies such as surgical robotics are reshaping outpatient care, as well as how operators are rethinking patient selection, cardiovascular services and orthopedic growth to safely…
Remote patient monitoring is steadily reshaping chronic disease care, but its role in inflammatory bowel disease is only now coming into focus. This comprehensive review traces how connected technologies—ranging from home biomarker testing and wearable sensors to passive physiologic monitoring—are being adapted for IBD, drawing lessons from cardiology, endocrinology, and psychiatry. It highlights promising signals around earlier flare detection, patient engagement, and proactive care, while also confronting the unresolved challenges of adherence, regulation, reimbursement, and workflow integration. What emerges is not a finished solution, but a rapidly evolving model of care whose real impact on IBD management is still being…