Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a common and deadly disease. Advances in understanding the disease have improved diagnosis, prevention, and treatment. Genetic factors play a role in some cases of CRC, and identifying hereditary disorders has helped reduce morbidity and mortality. Serrated polyps are also precursors of CRC, and colonoscopy is crucial for screening and prevention. However, colonoscopy is not perfect, and some lesions may be missed. Here we discuss common mistakes in CRC diagnosis, prevention, and treatment, and how to avoid them.

Adequate nutrition is essential for the homeostasis of fluids and nutrients, growth and thriving, especially in children. While the underlying principle of percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) placement is the same for both adults and children—providing a means of enteral feeding through the stomach—the indications, considerations and techniques differ owing to anatomical differences, age-dependent physiological concerns, and the age- and disease-specific needs of the child.

If feeding via nasogastric tube (NGT) or naso-jejunal tube (NJT) is necessary for a prolonged time, placement of a PEG or percutaneous endoscopic gastro-jejunal (PEG-J) tube should be considered. A PEG tube also allows the delivery of medications and venting of the stomach when needed. Nutrition via PEG facilitates the transition to out-of-hospital care and improves the quality of life (QoL) for children and families while improving the outcome of children with chronic diseases.

There are recent clinical guidelines providing guidance for PEG tube placement in children, but little advice on, e.g., choosing the right device for the right patient, details on postoperative management, removal of the PEG tube and other specific cases. The following article provides a combination of evidence-based data and the authors’ clinical experience.

The complexity of managing inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) stems from the heterogeneity of Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. This leads to differences in disease course, complications, and treatment responses among patients. Current treatment strategies rely on a trial-and-error approach, but there's a need for personalized therapy. Efforts have been made to develop reliable prognostic and predictive biomarkers to overcome disease heterogeneity. This article discusses common mistakes in biomarker development, interpretation, and application in IBD, emphasizing evidence-based insights and lessons learned from other fields.

Chronic gastritis is a common condition that occurs when an inflammatory infiltrate is present in the gastric mucosa. Diverse factors can cause such inflammation to develop, including food, common bacteria (particularly Helicobacter pylori) and even some viruses. Although the inflammatory infiltrate itself may not cause a disease per se, in some cases gastritis will evolve into atrophic gastritis, ulcers or gastric cancer. Clinicians therefore need to be aware of when gastritis is a harmless condition that can be left alone and when further action is required. In addition, many patients and some clinicians use the term ‘chronic gastritis’ to describe symptoms, mostly those of dyspepsia. This misuse of the terminology can lead to the erroneous conclusion that a diagnosis is being discussed and not a symptom. Here we address these mistakes and some of the others that are frequently made when managing patients with chronic gastritis. We discuss how to avoid making the mistakes to ensure that patients are managed adequately while reducing over treatment.