Abhisek Mitra, Jun Yan, Xueqing Xia, Shouhao Zhou, Jian Chen, Lopa Mishra, Shulin Li – 18 November 2016 – Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the second‐leading cause of cancer‐related deaths worldwide with a poor survival rate. As many as 40% of HCCs are clonal, with alteration of key tumor‐suppressor pathways in stem cells as the primary cause of HCC initiation. However, mechanisms that generate metastatic stem cells in preneoplastic liver tissue are not well understood.

Sujit K. Mohanty, Bryan Donnelly, Inna Lobeck, Ashley Walther, Phylicia Dupree, Abigail Coots, Jaroslaw Meller, Monica McNeal, Karol Sestak, Greg Tiao – 17 November 2016 – Biliary atresia (BA) is a neonatal obstructive cholangiopathy that progresses to end‐stage liver disease, often requiring transplantation. The murine model of BA, employing rhesus rotavirus (RRV), parallels human disease and has been used to elucidate mechanistic aspects of a virus induced biliary cholangiopathy.

Melanie Tran, Li Wang – 17 November 2016

Gro Askgaard, David A. Leon, Mette S. Kjær, Thomas Deleuran, Thomas A. Gerds, Janne S. Tolstrup – 16 November 2016 – Alcoholic liver cirrhosis is usually preceded by many years of heavy drinking, in which cessation in drinking could prevent the disease. Alcohol problems are not consistently managed in hospital patients. We followed all Danish patients with an initial hospital contact with alcohol problems (intoxication, harmful use, or dependence) during 1998‐2002 for alcoholic liver cirrhosis development (n = 36,044).

This lecture will provide a vision for the global elimination of hepatitis B (HBV) and strategies to reach that goal by examining the burden of hepatitis B infection and the disparity in prevalence across different parts of the world. Programs preventing hepatitis B infection, available treatment options in chronic hepatitis B, their limitations and novel therapies will also be discussed.Anna S. Lok

This program will provide trainees and practitioners with a careful review of highly impactful and clinically relevant papers in the management of alcoholic liver disease and NAFLD. Learn the caveats associated with the design, application and final message of key clinical studies, and identify the areas of that need further study. A special focus on emerging trends in the field and how these may impact the clinical management of alcoholic liver disease and BAFLD in coming years will be discussed.Philippe Mathurin Brent A.

The symposium will provide a broad overview on the diversity of portal hypertension in the Western World and in the Asia Pacific Region. Experts will discuss the presentation, diagnosis, and management of the consequences of portal hypertension, and will benefit all health care professionals engaged in encountering these patients in their clinical practice.K. Rajender Reddy Florence Wong Florence Wong, MD is a full professor at the University of Toronto and staff Hepatologist at the Toronto General Hospital, Ontario, Canada.

Estella M. Alonso, Simon P. Horslen, Edward M. Behrens, Edward Doo – 14 November 2016 – Pediatric acute liver failure (PALF) is a potentially devastating condition that occurs in previously healthy children of all ages and frequently leads to a rapid clinical deterioration. An identified cause for liver injury is lacking in approximately 30% of cases. Children with undetermined diagnosis have lower spontaneous survival and higher rates of transplantation and death than other diagnostic groups.

Micol Ravà, Aleco D'Andrea, Mirko Doni, Theresia R. Kress, Renato Ostuni, Valerio Bianchi, Marco J. Morelli, Agnese Collino, Serena Ghisletti, Paola Nicoli, Camilla Recordati, Maria Iascone, Aurelio Sonzogni, Lorenzo D'Antiga, Ruchi Shukla, Geoffrey J. Faulkner, Gioacchino Natoli, Stefano Campaner, Bruno Amati – 14 November 2016 – The ST18 gene has been proposed to act either as a tumor suppressor or as an oncogene in different human cancers, but direct evidence for its role in tumorigenesis has been lacking thus far.

Elizabeth P. Newberry, Yan Xie, Susan M. Kennedy, Mark J. Graham, Rosanne M. Crooke, Hui Jiang, Anping Chen, Daniel S. Ory, Nicholas O. Davidson – 14 November 2016 – Blocking hepatic very low‐density lipoprotein secretion through genetic or pharmacologic inhibition of microsomal triglyceride transfer protein (Mttp) causes hepatic steatosis, yet the risks for developing hepatic fibrosis are poorly understood. We report that liver‐specific Mttp knockout mice (Mttp‐LKO) exhibit both steatosis and fibrosis, which is exacerbated by a high‐transfat/fructose diet.