Sheng‐xian Yuan, Jie Wang, Fu Yang, Qi‐fei Tao, Jin Zhang, Li‐li Wang, Yuan Yang, Hui Liu, Zhen‐guang Wang, Qing‐guo Xu, Jia Fan, Lei Liu, Shu‐han Sun, Wei‐ping Zhou – 11 May 2015 – Tumor cells with stemness (stem‐cell) features contribute to initiation and progression of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), but involvement of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) remains largely unclear. Genome‐wide analyses were applied to identify tumor‐associated lncRNA‐DANCR. DANCR expression level and prognostic values of DANCR were assayed in two HCC cohorts (China and Korea, n = 135 and 223).

Saleh A. Alqahtani, Nezam Afdhal, Stefan Zeuzem, Stuart C. Gordon, Alessandra Mangia, Paul Kwo, Michael Fried, Jenny C. Yang, Xiao Ding, Phillip S. Pang, John G. McHutchison, David Pound, K. Rajender Reddy, Patrick Marcellin, Kris V.

Saleh A. Alqahtani, Nezam Afdhal, Stefan Zeuzem, Stuart C. Gordon, Alessandra Mangia, Paul Kwo, Michael Fried, Jenny C. Yang, Xiao Ding, Phillip S. Pang, John G. McHutchison, David Pound, K. Rajender Reddy, Patrick Marcellin, Kris V.

Dong Hyun Sinn, Junggyu Lee, Juna Goo, Kyunga Kim, Geum‐Youn Gwak, Yong‐Han Paik, Moon Seok Choi, Joon Hyeok Lee, Kwang Cheol Koh, Byung Chul Yoo, Seung Woon Paik – 11 May 2015 – Controversy exists about whether antiviral therapy (AVT) should be recommended for compensated cirrhosis patients with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection and detectable, but low, serum HBV‐DNA levels.

Andri Lederer, Pia Herrmann, Daniel Seehofer, Manfred Dietel, Johann Pratschke, Peter Schlag, Ulrike Stein – 8 May 2015 – Curative treatment of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) and hilar cholangiocarcinoma (Klatskin tumors) is limited to surgical resection or orthotopic liver transplantation. However, not all patients benefit from a surgical approach and suffer from early tumor recurrence. Response to chemotherapy is generally poor and, until today, no targeted therapy could be established.

Junfang Ji, Xin Zheng, Marshonna Forgues, Taro Yamashita, Eliane L. Wauthier, Lola M. Reid, Xinyu Wen, Young Song, Jun S. Wei, Javed Khan, Snorri S. Thorgeirsson, Xin Wei Wang – 8 May 2015 – Therapies that target cancer stem cells (CSCs) hold promise in eliminating cancer burden. However, normal stem cells are likely to be targeted owing to their similarities to CSCs. It is established that epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM) is a biomarker for normal hepatic stem cells (HpSCs), and EpCAM+AFP+ hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells have enriched hepatic CSCs.

Jun‐Nian Zhou, Quan Zeng, Hai‐Yang Wang, Biao Zhang, Si‐Ting Li, Xue Nan, Ning Cao, Chun‐Jiang Fu, Xin‐Long Yan, Ya‐Li Jia, Jing‐Xue Wang, Ai‐Hua Zhao, Zhi‐Wei Li, Yan‐Hua Li, Xiao‐Yan Xie, Xiao‐Mei Zhang, Yan Dong, Ying‐Chen Xu, Li‐Juan He, Wen Yue, Xue‐Tao Pei – 8 May 2015 – Emerging evidence suggests that epithelial‐mesenchymal transitions (EMTs) play important roles in tumor metastasis and recurrence. Understanding molecular mechanisms that regulate the EMT process is crucial for improving treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Rodrigo Liberal, Charlotte R. Grant, Beth S. Holder, John Cardone, Marc Martinez‐Llordella, Yun Ma, Michael A. Heneghan, Giorgina Mieli‐Vergani, Diego Vergani, Maria Serena Longhi – 8 May 2015 – Defective immune regulation plays a permissive role enabling effector cells to initiate and perpetuate tissue damage, eventually resulting in autoimmune disease. Numerical and functional regulatory T‐cell (Treg) impairment has been previously reported in autoimmune liver disease (AILD; including autoimmune hepatitis and autoimmune sclerosing cholangitis ASC).

Johanna Orlik, Sven Schüngel, Laura Elisa Buitrago‐Molina, Silke Marhenke, Robert Geffers, Jessica Endig, Katharina Lobschat, Stephanie Rössler, Benjamin Goeppert, Michael P. Manns, Atan Gross, Arndt Vogel – 8 May 2015 – Apoptosis is critical for maintaining tissue homeostasis, and apoptosis evasion is considered as a hallmark of cancer. However, increasing evidence also suggests that proapoptotic molecules can contribute to the development of cancer, including liver cancer.

Jasmohan S. Bajaj – 7 May 2015 – Watch a video presentation of this article