Welcome Massage
Dear esteemed colleagues,
My heartfelt welcome to International Pancreas Research Forum (IPRF) 2017 in Matsumoto, Japan. As conference President, it has been a great honor to organize such a prestigious international pancreas meeting.
The main theme of IPRF-2017 is "The gateway from autoimmune pancreatitis (AIP) to IgG4-related disease (IgG4-RD)". Initially, AIP was recognized pathologically as lymphoplasmacytic sclerosing pancreatitis by Dr. Kawaguchi in 1991 and as specific pancreatitis showing diffuse irregular narrowing of the main pancreatic duct by Dr. Toki in 1992. Later, the concept of AIP was proposed by Dr. Yoshida in 1995, which became widely accepted and culminated in the establishment of the International Consensus Diagnostic Criteria 2011. Afterwards, the recognition of a close association between AIP and IgG4 and the latter's other organ involvements have paved the way for a new systemic disease concept, IgG4-RD, which has also been adopted worldwide.
Extensive studies have disclosed numerous aspects of AIP, including its pathogenesis, long-term outcome, and relationship with other IG4-RDs. Moreover, another pathological subtype of AIP, idiopathic-duct centric chronic pancreatitis or AIP with granulocytic epithelial lesions, has been reported mainly from the USA and Europe and has been termed type 2 AIP. Based on these circumstances, three symposia and one topic seminar are planned for IPRF-2017 in addition to the many interesting abstracts on pancreatic diseases and IgG4-RDs that are ready for discussion in the poster sessions.
Located in the center of Japan, Matsumoto is surrounded by beautiful mountains and features a majestic castle. It is my hope that all participants enjoy the splendors of both the meeting and Matsumoto as our important guests.
Thank you all again for your participation, cooperation, and enthusiasm.
Sincerely yours,
Shigeyuki Kawa, M.D., Ph.D.
IPRF-2017 President
Internal Medicine, Matsumoto Dental University