Genetics of Pancreatitis : Are There Differences between Korea and Other Countries?

In the initial genetic studies about pancreatitis in Korea, gene mutations were thought to be rare.However, the recent findings of PRSS1, SPINK1, and CFTR mutations in patients with idiopathic chronic pancreatitis or inherited cases of chronic pancreatitis are much more common than originally predicted.Therefore, it is important to identify underlying genetic background in idiopathic chronic pancreatitis to avoid progression and development of complications.In addition, concentrated and strict follow-up must be given to the patients because of very high risk of pancreatic cancer.However, it is also true that studies about genetics in pancreatitis were not enough to compare with Western studies.Accordingly, further large scale studies are necessary to find other unknown possible genes that could be related to the chronic and hereditary pancreatitis.