Molecular understanding of chronic pancreatitis: a perspective on the future.

Despite the recent development of medical imaging technology, chronic pancreatitis can only be diagnosed when the disease is fully established. This is due to the lack of specific and sensitive markers for this disease. The discovery of mutations in the cationic trypsinogen gene in patients with hereditary pancreatitis and a high incidence of mutations in the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator gene in patients with chronic pancreatitis might be important clues to understanding the molecular mechanisms of this disease. The interaction between ethanol and ion channels might be the missing link between alcohol ingestion and chronic pancreatitis.