The Consortium for the Study of Chronic Pancreatitis, Diabetes, and Pancreatic Cancer (CPDPC) 10 years of Past Accomplishments and Looking Forward to the Next 5 Years of the Chronic Pancreatitis Clinical Research Consortium (CPCRC)

This article provides an overview of 10 years of accomplishments of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases supported Consortium for the Study of Chronic Pancreatitis, Diabetes, and Pancreatic Cancer (CPDPC); and outlines strategies for the next 5 years as the Chronic Pancreatitis Clinical Research Consortium (CPCRC). The overriding objectives of the CPDPC have been to provide an enhanced understanding of the natural history of recurrent acute and chronic pancreatitis in children and adults; to investigate the interrelationships between diabetes on both the progressive forms of pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer; and to develop methods for diagnosis, treatment and clinical management of these pancreatic disorders. This article also serves as an introduction for two papers in this issue of Pancreas describing the progress and direction for two of the four working groups of CPDPC-the Pediatric and the Adult Recurrent Acute and Chronic Pancreatitis Groups. These two working groups have made great progress in studies of the natural history, mechanisms, etiology, complications, and treatment of pancreatitis in adults and children. The working groups investigating diabetes due to pancreatitis or to pancreatic cancer (Diabetes Mellitus and Pancreatic Cancer Working Group and the Type 3c Diabetes Working Group) have also made great progress in studies focused on the inter-relationships between the endocrine and exocrine pancreas, and these are published in the journal Pancreatology.