Letter from The Editor

Lagging a bit behind our colleagues in rheumatology and dermatology, we are now experiencing a period of intensive drug development research in IBD. This means that we can expect a rapid expansion of the therapeutic landscape in the coming years. More than ever, personalised medicine will become of critical importance. Which patient needs early aggressive treatment? Which patient can be managed conservatively? Who is likely to respond to a certain drug class and who is likely to fail? How can we optimise disease monitoring? What about the safe use of drugs in vulnerable patient populations such as the elderly, paediatric, or pregnant patients? All these issues were covered during the 13th edition of the annual congress of the European Crohn’s and Colitis Organisation (ECCO) in Vienna. A total of 6,654 attendees from 86 countries came together for the most important IBD meeting in the world. The central theme this year was “science improving patients’ lives.” Herein you can find a carefully selected summary of the highlights of this year’s congress.

Kind regards, Prof. Pieter Hindryckx

Biography

Pieter Hindryckx is a part-time professor at the department of gastroenterology of the University Hospital in Ghent (Belgium). He focuses on inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and therapeutic endoscopy. He has published >60 articles in peer-reviewed journals, the vast majority as first or last author. He is a former chair of the young European Crohn's and Colitis Organisation (ECCO) and is the current secretary of the Belgian IBD Research and Development group. He completed a one-year fellowship at the Robarts Clinical Trials Research Institute in Amsterdam (Netherlands) and in London (Ontario, Canada) under the mentorship of Prof. Geert D’Haens and Prof. Brian Feagan, respectively.