INTRODUCTION: The study aimed to develop consensus recommendations for the safe and appropriate use of liquid nitrogen spray cryotherapy in Barrett’s esophagus and esophageal cancer. METHODS: Statements were initially formulated and grouped into categories of indications, training, preprocedure, intraprocedure, and postprocedure recommendations, frequency/timing of repeat procedures, and contraindications. Two investigators assessed the strength of the evidence for each statement using Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation methodology. Nineteen experts were invited to participate in a modified Delphi process. For statements that received >80% agreement, minor iterative edits were performed until there was unanimous consensus. If a threshold of 80%…
Author: Abhay Panchal
The story of gastroenterology in 2025 is no longer about productivity or reimbursement, it’s about manpower. Hospitals and practices across the U.S. are struggling to recruit, retain, or even temporarily staff the specialists who manage digestive diseases, perform colon cancer screening, and handle emergency procedures like ERCP. What we’re facing isn’t simply a staffing issue; it’s a structural shortage decades in the making.
Private equity investment in medical practices is resurging, but the era of simple “buy-and-build” roll-ups is giving way to a more operationally focused model. According to Bain & Company’s 2026 healthcare PE report, investors are now prioritizing operational excellence over pure scale — emphasizing workflow redesign, access optimization, physician alignment, analytics, and AI-enabled efficiency. Specialties drawing attention include: Healthcare private equity hit a record $191 billion in deal value globally in 2025, with healthcare IT and AI playing a major role in value creation strategies. The bottom line for physician groups: buyers are still active — but they’re looking for…
The U.S. FDA has granted Fast Track designation to pelareorep, an investigational immunotherapy from Oncolytics Biotech, in combination with bevacizumab and FOLFIRI for second-line treatment of KRAS-mutant, microsatellite-stable (MSS) metastatic colorectal cancer. The designation follows encouraging clinical data showing: These results compare favorably to historical outcomes with standard-of-care therapy alone in a population traditionally resistant to immunotherapy.
Austin Gastroenterology will open a new South Austin location on March 2, consolidating its former James Casey and Southwest clinics into a single, modern facility. The new Barton Ridge site is designed to improve care coordination, streamline services, and enhance patient experience through expanded space and improved accessibility. While local in scope, the move reflects a broader trend in gastroenterology: clinic consolidation to drive operational efficiency, strengthen brand presence, and centralize services in growing metro markets.
Natera has published clinical validation data for its Latitude™ tissue-free molecular residual disease (MRD) assay in colorectal cancer, reporting strong sensitivity, specificity, and prognostic value in one of the largest tfMRD datasets to date. In an analysis of 195 patients from the GALAXY trial, the methylation-based ctDNA test demonstrated: MRD positivity was strongly associated with worse outcomes and identified high-risk patients who derived meaningful benefit from adjuvant chemotherapy, while MRD-negative patients saw little treatment advantage. The publication supports a MolDX submission and potential Medicare reimbursement pathway—marking an important step toward broader clinical integration of tissue-free MRD testing in colorectal cancer.…
Despite advances in outpatient therapies, hospitalization for adults with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) remains common—and outcomes vary widely across institutions. To address persistent gaps in inpatient management, the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) has released a new Clinical Practice Update outlining 13 best-practice recommendations for hospitalized adults with IBD. Key themes include: The guidance also highlights emerging considerations, including extended venous thromboembolism prophylaxis, the evolving role of JAK inhibitors as steroid-sparing options in acute severe ulcerative colitis, and the growing use of intestinal ultrasound for real-time assessment. The update reflects a broader shift: inpatient IBD care is becoming more protocol-driven, risk-stratified,…
Gastroenterology is facing a growing anesthesia staffing mismatch—driven not just by workforce shortages, but by volatile scheduling patterns and tightening payer scrutiny. According to clinicians speaking with Becker’s, GI suites are experiencing front-loaded procedure surges, late add-ons, and unpredictable stacking of cases that strain traditional anesthesia staffing models built around fixed daily blocks. The result: early-day overload, midday underutilization, and limited flexibility in non-operating room anesthesia (NORA) settings.
Gastro Florida, one of the largest independent gastroenterology groups in the region with more than 60 board-certified providers, has joined the Tampa General Provider Network (TGPN), aligning with Tampa General Hospital’s nationally ranked academic health system. The affiliation expands access to advanced gastroenterology and hepatology services across multiple Florida counties, integrating community-based GI practices with the resources of an academic medical center—including the TGH Digestive Diseases Institute and oncology specialists. Leaders from both organizations emphasized coordinated care pathways, access to complex procedures, and expanded use of advanced diagnostics, predictive analytics, and AI-enabled infrastructure. The move reflects a broader trend in…
Alimetry has received U.S. FDA clearance for updated reporting features within its Gastric Alimetry diagnostic platform, incorporating neural network–based signal processing and redesigned clinical metrics. According to the company, the AI-driven update improves differentiation between true gastrointestinal signals and background noise, aiming to provide clinicians with a clearer, more reliable assessment of gastric function. The redesigned reports also feature centralized, streamlined metrics intended to support faster, at-a-glance clinical interpretation. The clearance marks another regulatory milestone for noninvasive, AI-enabled GI diagnostics—and underscores a broader industry shift toward smarter signal processing, usability-focused design, and workflow-integrated digital platforms.