CLDN18.2 has emerged as a promising therapeutic target in gastric and gastro-oesophageal junction cancers. However, its clinical efficacy in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) has been modest, suggesting the presence of regulatory mechanisms impairing its efficacy.

Dysosmobacter welbionis is a recently discovered butyrate producer whose presence in stool correlates with improved metabolic health. Whether its abundance is reduced in individuals with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) remains unknown. Mechanistic insight into its butyrate production from myo-inositol, a dietary compound from fruits, beans, grains and nuts with metabolic benefits, is also limited.

Over 90% pancreatic cancers harbour activating kirsten rat sarcoma viral oncogene homolog (KRAS）mutations. However, monotherapies targeting the KRAS vertical pathway, with recently developed KRAS inhibitors or rapidly accelerated fibrosarcoma (RAF)/MEK/ERK inhibitors, have demonstrated limited clinical benefit. Therefore, there is an urgent need to identify novel therapeutic targets and combination strategies with KRAS inhibition.

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have revolutionised cancer treatment and patients' survival. However, ICIs also cause severe immune-related adverse events, notably colitis, resulting in ICIs therapy discontinuation and tumour immunotherapy failure. This study investigates long myosin light chain kinase 1 (MLCK1), a known regulator of tight junction and gut permeability, to elucidate the mechanisms underlying ICI-mediated colitis and identify approaches to reduce this toxicity.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) arises from complex interactions among diet, host and gut microbiome. Although diet influences intestinal inflammation, the microbial and metabolic pathways involved, and their differences between Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC), the two main subtypes of IBD remain unclear.

IBD is rising worldwide and is now a global disease. With the expanding armamentarium of medical therapies, including biologics and small molecules, there is a decline in hospitalisation rates and IBD-related surgeries. However, high costs, injectable therapy, risk of opportunistic infections and the lifelong nature of the disease pose significant challenges in the management of IBD. Developing countries are also constrained by a lack of trained manpower, as well as economic and infrastructural limitations. Strategies aimed at the prevention of IBD may alleviate the suffering and cost of this disease. Suggested approaches include implementation of prevention and interception trials using dietary, pharmacological and precision medicine approaches. However, these would necessitate massive funding and equitable infrastructural support for identifying the population at risk (for prevention trials) and those with preclinical disease (for interception trials). Hence, these strategies are unlikely to be globally practicable or economically viable, particularly in the Global South. It is believed that IBD, like certain non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular disorders, may be preventable by modifying the risk factors. Therefore, in this review, we advocate for an alternative approach of combining evidence-based IBD prevention strategies with the time-tested strategies of NCD prevention approaches already being implemented. We suggest a sieving strategy for selecting preventive measures through a series of sieves-interventions that have evidence to support prevention, align with NCD prevention and are economically viable.

Streptococcus anginosus has been linked with an increasing risk of gastric cancer (GC) and recognised as a signature for GC screening.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a leading cause of cancer mortality with limited therapeutic options. Despite promising immunotherapy, response rates remain suboptimal. Tumour-associated macrophages (TAMs) constitute a pivotal component of the immunosuppressive HCC microenvironment, yet TAM heterogeneity and contributions to tumour progression and immunotherapy resistance remain poorly defined.

Recurrent acute pancreatitis (RAP) or acute-on-chronic flares in chronic pancreatitis (CP) have limited preventive options beyond addressing the underlying aetiology. Statins, due to their anti-inflammatory properties, have been proposed as a potential prophylactic treatment.

Gut microbiota has been widely recognised as playing a critical role in maintaining immune imbalance and the development of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). As key roles mediating interkingdom crosstalk among plants, microbiomes and mammals, plant-derived exosome-like nanoparticles (ELNs) could use lipids and microRNA components to precisely modulate gene expression of gut microbiota, showing potential as a dietary intervention for RA treatment.