Stefan M. Brunner, Christoph Rubner, Rebecca Kesselring, Maria Martin, Eva Griesshammer, Petra Ruemmele, Thomas Stempfl, Andreas Teufel, Hans J. Schlitt, Stefan Fichtner‐Feigl – 30 January 2015 – Interleukin‐33 (IL‐33), a cytokine with pleiotropic functions, is elevated in serum of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). This study investigated the effects of local IL‐33 expression in resected HCC on patient survival and on the immunological and molecular tumor microenvironment.

Mi Na Kim, Seung Up Kim, Beom Kyung Kim, Jun Yong Park, Do Young Kim, Sang Hoon Ahn, Ki Jun Song, Young Nyun Park, Kwang‐Hyub Han – 30 January 2015 – Early detection of liver cirrhosis in its subclinical stage is of paramount importance to identify high‐risk individuals for developing hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). This study investigated whether transient elastography (TE) can identify patients with subclinical cirrhosis (SCC) who are at increased risk of developing HCC among chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients without clinical evidence of cirrhosis.

Scott L. Friedman – 30 January 2015

Pietro Lampertico – 30 January 2015

Natalie J. Torok, Jonathan A. Dranoff, Detlef Schuppan, Scott L. Friedman – 27 January 2015 – There is an urgent need to develop antifibrotic therapies for chronic liver disease, and clarify which endpoints in antifibrotic trials will be acceptable to regulatory agencies. The American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases sponsored an endpoints conference to help accelerate the efficient testing of antifibrotic agents and develop recommendations on clinical trial design for liver fibrosis.

Doohyung Lee, Juri Na, Jihye Ryu, Hye‐Jin Kim, Seo Hee Nam, Minkyung Kang, Jae Woo Jung, Mi‐Sook Lee, Haeng Eun Song, Jungeun Choi, Gyu‐Ho Lee, Tai Young Kim, June‐Key Chung, Ki Hun Park, Sung‐Hak Kim, Hyunggee Kim, Howon Seo, Pilhan Kim, Hyewon Youn, Jung Weon Lee – 27 January 2015 – Tumor metastasis involves circulating and tumor‐initiating capacities of metastatic cancer cells. Epithelial‐mesenchymal transition (EMT) is related to self‐renewal capacity and circulating tumor cell (CTC) characteristics for tumor metastasis.

Natalie J. Torok, Jonathan A. Dranoff, Detlef Schuppan, Scott L. Friedman – 27 January 2015 – There is an urgent need to develop antifibrotic therapies for chronic liver disease, and clarify which endpoints in antifibrotic trials will be acceptable to regulatory agencies. The American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases sponsored an endpoints conference to help accelerate the efficient testing of antifibrotic agents and develop recommendations on clinical trial design for liver fibrosis.

Hongli Yan, Yuan Yang, Ling Zhang, Guannan Tang, YuZhao Wang, Geng Xue, Weiping Zhou, Shuhan Sun – 27 January 2015 – Early‐onset hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) accounts for 15%‐20% of total HCC cases in Asia, and the incidence is increasing. The low frequency of cirrhosis and poor prognosis of early‐onset HCC suggests that its mechanisms may differ from late‐onset HCC. Although hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is epidemiologically associated with HCC, the role of HBV in early‐onset HCC remains poorly understood.

Zobair M. Younossi, Maria Stepanova, Patrick Marcellin, Nezam Afdhal, Kris V. Kowdley, Stefan Zeuzem, Sharon L. Hunt – 27 January 2015 – Treatment with interferon (IFN) and ribavirin (RBV) significantly impairs quality of life and other patient‐reported outcomes (PROs). Patient experience with IFN‐ and RBV‐free anti‐HCV (hepatitis C virus) regimens has not been reported. We assessed PROs in patients treated with ledipasvir and sofosbuvir (LDV/SOF) with and without RBV.

Yongyin Li, Weibin Wang, Libo Tang, Xuanqiu He, Xin Yan, Xiaoyong Zhang, Youfu Zhu, Jian Sun, Yongquan Shi, Xiong Ma, Ian R. Mackay, M. Eric Gershwin, Ying Han, Jinlin Hou – 27 January 2015 – The serological hallmark of primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) is the presence of high titer and specific antimitochondrial antibodies (AMAs). Although there is no global immune defect in patients with PBC, there is widespread dysregulated B‐cell function, including increased sera levels of immunoglobulin M and enhanced B‐cell responses to cytosine‐phosphate‐guanine stimulation.