About the Authors

Fabio Farinati

Contributed equally to this work with: Fabio Farinati, Alessandro Vitale

Affiliation Department of Surgery, Oncology and Gastroenterology, University of Padua, Padua, Italy

Alessandro Vitale

Contributed equally to this work with: Fabio Farinati, Alessandro Vitale

alessandro.vitale@unipd.it

Affiliation Department of Surgery, Oncology and Gastroenterology, University of Padua, Padua, Italy

Gaya Spolverato

Affiliation Department of Surgery, Oncology and Gastroenterology, University of Padua, Padua, Italy

Timothy M. Pawlik

Affiliation Department of Surgery, Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America

Teh-la Huo

Affiliations National Yang-Ming University, Taipei City, Taiwan, Department of Medicine, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei City, Taiwan

Yun-Hsuan Lee

Affiliations National Yang-Ming University, Taipei City, Taiwan, Department of Medicine, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei City, Taiwan

Anna Chiara Frigo

Affiliation Biostatistics Unit, University of Padua, Padua, Italy

Anna Giacomin

Affiliation Department of Surgery, Oncology and Gastroenterology, University of Padua, Padua, Italy

Edoardo G. Giannini

Affiliation Gastroenterology Unit, Department of Internal Medicine, IRCCS Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria San Martino IST, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy

Francesca Ciccarese

Affiliation Division of Surgery, San Marco Hospital, Zingonia, Italy

Fabio Piscaglia

Affiliation Division of Internal Medicine, Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, Alma Mater Studiorum, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy

Gian Lodovico Rapaccini

Affiliation Division of Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology, Complesso Integrato Columbus, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy

Mariella Di Marco

Affiliation Division of Medicine, Bolognini Hospital, Seriate, Italy

Eugenio Caturelli

Affiliation Division of Gastroenterology, Belcolle Hospital, Viterbo, Italy

Marco Zoli

Affiliation Division of Internal Medicine, Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, Alma Mater Studiorum, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy

Franco Borzio

Affiliation Division of Radiology, Department of Medicine, Fatebenefratelli Hospital, Milan, Italy

Giuseppe Cabibbo

Affiliation Division of Gastroenterology, Biomedical Department of Internal and Specialistic Medicine, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy

Martina Felder

Affiliation Division of Gastroenterology, Bolzano Regional Hospital, Bolzano, Italy

Rodolfo Sacco

Affiliation Division of Gastroenterology and Metabolic Diseases, University Hospital of Pisa, Pisa, Italy

Filomena Morisco

Affiliation Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy

Elisabetta Biasini

Affiliation Division of Infectious Diseases and Hepatology, Azienda Ospedaliero–Universitaria di Parma, Parma, Italy

Francesco Giuseppe Foschi

Affiliation Department of Internal Medicine, Ospedale per gli Infermi di Faenza, Faenza, Italy

Antonio Gasbarrini

Affiliation Division of Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Roma, Italy

Gianluca Svegliati Baroni

Affiliation Division of Gastroenterology, Polytechnic University of Marche, Ancona, Italy

Roberto Virdone

Affiliation Division of Internal Medicine 2, Ospedali Riuniti Villa Sofia Cervello, Palermo, Italy

Alberto Masotto

Affiliation Gastroenterology Unit, Ospedale Sacro Cuore Don Calabria, Negrar, Italy

Franco Trevisani

Affiliation Division of Semeiotics, Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, Alma Mater Studiorum, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy

Umberto Cillo

Affiliation Department of Surgery, Oncology and Gastroenterology, University of Padua, Padua, Italy

ITA.LI.CA study group

Membership of the ITA.LI.CA study group is provided in the Acknowledgments.

Competing Interests

I have read the journal's policy and the authors of this manuscript have the following competing interests: EG has received teaching and travel grants from Bayer AG. FP has received from Bayer and Bracco travel grants and honoraria for speaking or participation at meetings.

Author Contributions

Conceived and designed the experiments: AV FFa UC. Performed the experiments: AV TLH YHL AGi GS FT FFa EGG FC FP GLR MDM EC MZ FB GC MF AGa RS FGF GM FM GSB RV UC. Analyzed the data: AV FFa ACF GS TMP UC. Contributed reagents/materials/analysis tools: AV TLH YHL AGi GS FT FFa EGG FC FP GLR MDM EC MZ FB GC MF AGa RS FGF GM FM GSB RV EB AM UC. Wrote the first draft of the manuscript: AV GS TMP FFa UC. Contributed to the writing of the manuscript: AV TLH YHL AGi GS FT FFa EGG FC FP GLR MDM EC MZ FB GC MF AGa RS FGF GM FM GSB RV UC. Enrolled patients: AV TLH YHL AGi GS FT FFa EGG FC FP GLR MDM EC MZ FB GC MF AGa RS FGF GM FM GSB RV EB AM UC. Agree with the manuscript’s results and conclusions: FFa AV ACF TMP TLH YHL AGi GS FT FFo EGG FC FP GLR MDM EC MZ FB GC MF AGa RS FGF GM FM GSB RV EB AM UC. All authors have read, and confirm that they meet, ICMJE criteria for authorship.