Multiple endocrine neoplasias in the era of translational medicine

Medicine is an ever changing art, continuously adjusting to the shifting principles of philosophy and constant discoveries of science; it was beautifully said by Hippocrates: "... medicine does not do the same thing at this moment and the next..." Unabated dissemination of information is the only way that patients are assured that physicians will continue to practice medicine that reflects contemporary science. In the field of Multiple Endocrine Neoplasias (MENs), this is at least in part accomplished by biennially held International Workshops. The articles led by this editorial are the second and last installment of a collection of state-of-the-art presentations given in the course of the ninth such workshop that was held in Bethesda, MD, June 19-22, 2004. In addition to serving as an introduction to the articles that were written by some of the leaders in the field, the text of the editorial review that follows also supports the notion that MENs are poised to lead translational research in endocrinology: these disorders have benefited remarkably from the discoveries of the human genome project and are at a unique position to take advantage of new modalities in basic and clinical science.