News & Events

Kothari to Lead Landmark Study in Gastroenterology: SHARP Trial

Wednesday, April 26, 2023

URMC has been selected as a site for the NIH funded SHARP Trial: a first-of-its-kind study to evaluate the effects of an ERCP procedure on patients with pancreas divisum with recurrent pancreatitis. Only 20 other sites are involved in the program. Research at URMC will be led by Truptesh Kothari, MD, MS, associate professor of Medicine in Gastroenterology/Hepatology.

Pancreas divisum (PD) is a congenital birth anomaly. It is found in roughly 10 percent of the population, and of those who have PD, 10 percent have symptoms of acute pancreatitis.

The SpHincterotomy for Acute Recurrent Pancreatitis (SHARP) clinical trial will determine the benefits and effects of an Endoscopic Retrograde CholangioPancreatography (ERCP) procedure with minor papilla sphincterotomy (cutting of the opening of the pancreatic duct) for patients with PD.

“The SHARP trial will be a landmark study,” said Kothari, “and will place URMC on the global map in the field of pancreatico-biliary.”

Co-investigators are Shivangi Kothari, MD, and Vivek Kaul, MD. Soon, the team will begin enrolling patients for the study.

Transplant Hepatology Team Highlights from 2022

Tuesday, February 14, 2023

The URMC Liver Transplant program found great success in their clinical activities last year.

The team performed 75 liver transplant surgeries in 2022. Liver transplant patients at URMC have a one-year patient survival rate of 96 percent, and a one-year graft survival rate of 92 percent, surpassing expected rates for this type of surgery based on the acuity of patients who receive transplants at URMC.

The only liver transplant and live-donor liver transplant program in upstate New York, URMC is one of the leading programs in North America for liver transplantation, and one of the first two centers in the nation to offer transplants for select patients with advanced colorectal liver metastasis.

In 2022, URMC’s outreach clinics received 464 visitors between our locations in Syracuse and Buffalo. The team also received 140 referrals last year for transplantation for patients with advanced colorectal metastasis, with 95 percent coming from outside of New York state. 4 of the 75 transplants were for these complex cases.

The Transplant Hepatology team includes department of Medicine faculty Bandar Al Judaibi, MBBS, medical director, Mark Levstik, MD, Priya Farooq, MD, Marie Laryea, BSc, MDCM, and Gopal Ramaraju, MD.

Danielle Marino Discusses Impact of Early Cancer Screening

Wednesday, February 8, 2023

Danielle Marino, MD, gastroenterologist and medical director of Wilmot's Hereditary Cancer Screening and Risk Reduction Program, spoke with WHEC about National Cancer Prevention Month and how to reduce your risk of certain types of cancer. "The most important thing people can do is to start by going to their doctor and talking about their family history," said Marino. "Early screening and detection can impact the outcome."